"I resent that! But, no, actually, the one I liked was He- Uh, hardly in it." She hoped he didn't notice the pink tinge on her cheeks.
"And which is that?" he queried, intensely curious now.
She blurted the first one that came to mind. "Aloin."
Colin scoffed. "Cary's annoying. And he likes to poke people with arrows."
"Oh, really? And what sort of... arrows?" she asked, giving him an entirely innocent look.
"Get your mind out of the gutter!" he exclaimed in mock-horror. Then he paused. "So mine can roll by."
"For your information, Pierce, my mind wasn't in the gutter." But it certainly is now, she thought.
"Oh, what a shame."
Jaina laughed. "I'm sure yours is there 24/7."
"You say that like it's a bad thing, McGregor."
She looked at him for a moment, then away. "It depends on the gutter."
"This one's only a little scummy."
"Riiight. I'll believe that when they're having snowball fights on Tatooine and people go to Hoth to sunbathe."
Colin propped his hands on his sweatpant-clad hips. "Are you implying something about my state of mind?"
With supreme innocence, she asked, "Who's implying?"
He threw an arm up over his eyes, throwing himself backward against a tree. "You wound me!"
Straightening, he gave her a long, unreadable look, then rolled his eyes and muttered, "Americans."
Jaina tapped him in the shin with the toe of her shoe.
"You have something against Americans?" she demanded.
"Ow!" he cried. "You're all nuts! With a banana sundae on the side."
"At least my mind isn't in a scummy gutter," she retorted.
"It could be," he said, leering.
With false righteous indignation, she informed him, "My gutter's all pristine."
"Is it really?" He looked at her like she was some new form of insect.
"Yes. Don't come to it." She let her bike lean against her legs and folded her arms. "I don't need you to dirty my gutter."
After a moment, in which he grinned at her, she said, "Wait. That sounded soooo wrong. Forget I said it."
"I don't think it's humanly possible to forget that one, Jay."
"I think you should test that possibility." She waved a hand in front of his face like Obi-Wan Kenobi. "You will forget what I said."
"All of it or just your gutter?"
Jaina shook her head. "Men!"
"What? You don't like men?"
Gritting her teeth, she thought, No, the problem is, you do!
Oblivious to this, Colin said, "I'm too amazingly handsome for you, huh?"
She snorted. "Ha, you wish!"
Colin gave her a devastated look. "That hurt."
"You have feelings?" she gasped, a hand over her heart. "I had no idea!"
His mouth twisted in an attempt to fight a smile. "I'll have you know, I do!"
She looked astounded and fascinated. "Are they itty-bitty?"
Ignoring that, he said, "And... it stings that you don't think I'm drop-dead gorgeous!"
"It only stings? They must be itty-bitty."
With mock outrage, he demanded, "What did I ever do to you?!"
Jaina conveniently dropped her water bottle, and grimaced as she picked it up. ‘You're gay,’ she thought. ‘That's what you did.’
"You tried to dirty my gutter," she said as she stood. "Mind! I mean mind! Blast you!"
"Why blast me?"
"You- you- Mind-dirtier!" she accused, pointing her finger at him.
"You think so?" he asked. "How can I make a career out of that?"
Jaina fought a sudden blush as she thought, ‘I can think of a couple ways...’
Changing the subject suddenly, Colin asked, "So was this Jack a mind-dirtier too?"
"Uh... Not in the way you're probably thinking." She thought for a moment. "Or maybe you are."
"Wanna vague that up for me?"
"No. I don't want to clear it up, either."
He chuckled. "OK... Easy."
For one awkward moment, they stared at each other, then both looked away with a laugh.
Jaina cleared her throat. "So, anyway, back to the subject. What DVD would you take?"
"Hmm... The Hunger."
Jaina cocked her head. "What's that?" she asked.
"A Bowie Vampire movie."
Jaina burst out laughing. For several moments, she was bent double, red-faced, laughing until tears poured down her cheeks.
Finally, she straightened, and gasped out, "A VAMPIRE movie!"
"What's so funny?" Colin inquired.
She laughed, holding her stomach. "I almost said Buffy for mine!"
"Buffy?"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," she clarified. "TV show. Really bad movie. I've got the whole series on DVD. I'll have to make you watch it."
She stopped for a second, then corrected, "My sister Emily swiped season 2. Actually, I gave it to her when I left for Sydney, 'cause she likes Angelus."
"Angelus?" he asked, brow furrowed.
Jaina nodded. "One of the bad guys. Who starts out as a good guy. Actually, no, he starts out as a drunken Irishman. My sister is evil, she likes the bad guys."
Colin looked like he was about to laugh. "A drunken Irishman? Who's turned into a vampire?"
She nodded earnestly. "Yeah. Then given a soul, which he loses when he has sex with Buffy. Then he gets it back."
"And I thought The Hunger was weird," Colin said with a shake of his dark head.
"What's weird about The Hunger?"
"Lesbian sex scene from the '80s," he answered promptly. "With Susan Sarandon."
Jaina made a face. "That is weird. And you like that stuff?"
Colin was flustered for several long moments. "Uh... I plead your American 5th."
"You know..." she said slowly, "when people plead that, it usually means they're guilty and don't want to confess."
"Well, I just don't want to talk about it," he stuttered.
"Fair enough," she said.
"Thank you."
"But I still have to wonder why you're watching a lesbian sex scene if you're, you know."
"Oh. That is what I don't want to discuss."
Mentally kicking herself, Jaina said, "Fine with me. I won't bug you. Consider it dropped."
"Buffy sounds like a blonde," Colin offered.
"She is a blonde," Jaina replied.
"Wow."
"And she kills bad guys. Unless she's sleeping with them," she told him. She hesitated. "She has problems."
"Sounds like it," Colin laughed.
The awkward silence was back, but they'd resumed walking.
"Anyway..." she began, and trailed off.
"So..."
"But David Bowie as a vampire? That's messed up."
Chapter Nine
By the middle of May, Colin and Jaina had a schedule set. On Saturday and Sunday, they would ride for an hour around Auckland, and on several nights during the week, on those evenings when filming didn't go later than seven, Jaina would go over to Colin's and attempt to teach him more than the basics of boiling water and toasting bread. And the ever-important operation of the microwave.
It was on one such evening that Jaina arrived at his house with her cookbook--Colin had yet to buy his own, and she was of half a mind that he was delaying on purpose--and was greeted at the door by a rather frazzled-looking Colin, who said, "The downstairs bath is out of order. If you need to, use the upstairs one, second door on the right."
"Okay." Jaina followed him into the kitchen and dumped the cookbook there. "You bought the chicken?"
"Yes." He nodded.
Pushing past her to get to the fridge, Jaina could have sworn she felt his hand brush her backside. Ducking her head, she peered at him from behind the curtain of her "Toasted Almond" hair--at least, according to Clairol--to see if he was looking at her. He wasn't. He had the fridge door open and was pulling out the chicken brea
sts.
Had that been an accident? It had to be. Why else would he do that?
Feeling very confused--and also kind of tingly--Jaina quickly began fetching the spices she needed from the cupboard. She watched Colin out of the corner of her eye, and decided it must have been an accident.
But try as she might, she couldn't relax. Finally, she excused herself, leaving Colin to stir breading with a fork--she figured that much he could handle--and ran upstairs.
She found the bathroom without trouble. When she was through, she spent a moment looking around the second floor. There was one more floor, but she didn't have an excuse to go up there.
The floor seemed to be a honey-colored oak, or possibly pine; she wasn't good with woods. Anyway, it wasn't red enough to be cherry finish. The walls were, as always, white.
"He needs an interior decorator, stat," Jaina murmured.
From downstairs, Colin called, "Jaina? I don't know what to do now!"
She snickered. College educated, with a glib tongue, but still... adorable and helpless.
Her heart and stomach both did gymnastics at that thought.
"Just a minute!" she called, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt.
Jaina hurried to the stairs, suddenly aware that the staircase was steep and she was wearing heels. "Not smart, McGregor. He's not gonna notice anyway," she said under her breath.
She was almost down the stairs when Colin appeared suddenly, making her start. She lost her footing and tumbled forward, slamming him into the frame of the window as he caught her, blue eyes wide with surprise.
The air left their lungs collectively. Jaina couldn't have breathed anyway, since she was now pressed full-length against his body. Her heart, which had already been beating swifter from her headlong spill down the last two steps, began thudding in earnest.
Jaina's fingers were clenched in his shirt. He was wearing a navy blue t-shirt, the one she realized with a start, he'd loaned her before. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. His skin was hot against her hands, and her breasts where they pressed against his torso.
Her image was reflected in his eyes, which were suddenly closer than she'd ever seen them. The bright, deep sky blue of his eyes were separated from the whites with a band of darker, sapphire blue, with bright, cobalt flecks in the irises. She'd never seen eyes like his.
Their faces were just inches apart, both wide-eyed and pale from her close-call. She could see the pulse hammering in his throat, and knew he was just as unnerved by her near-accident as she was. It had to be the accident, the voice in her head said. It couldn't have anything to do with the way she was pressed against him, his arms like bands of iron around her. Or the fact that she stood between his legs, the pair of them leaning heavily against between the window and one of the pillars dotting the main floor.
His head moved a little closer, and for a heart stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. There was a buzzing in her ears preventing her from thinking more clearly than that, and then, her pulse, which had been slowing, raced once more.
His lips looked soft, Jaina thought, trying to keep her eyes off them. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him, put her mouth to his and find out.
She never got the chance.
Colin licked his lips, then cleared his throat. "Are you all right?" he asked hoarsely.
A bone-crushing disappointment welled in her. She was mortified when tears sprang to her eyes.
It was a few more moment before she could catch her breath enough to say, "Yes, I'm... fine. Thanks for, uh, catching me."
When he slowly released her, she realized that he'd been holding all of her weight off her feet. She gave a startled cry when her weight settled on her left ankle.
Without even pausing for thought, Colin scooped her up, walked her into the living room, and deposited her on the blue sofa. She had the fleeting thought that it was very nice to be carried. He crouched in front of her, undid the buckle on her shoe, and held it up.
"These are stupid," he said, and tossed it across the room.
"Yeah, well, you're not five-two!" she retorted. "I can't reach your microwave, and it's on top of a short fridge! And who puts their microwave on top of the fridge?!"
Colin rolled his eyes. He was studying her ankle, which was already swelling. "Looks like you've at least twisted it, if not sprained it."
Even though it hurt when he gently examined her lower leg, Jaina still had trouble thinking with his hands holding her foot. She'd always had small feet, and they looked even smaller in his large palms.
Not that she was paying any attention to that.
Jaina was looking at the top of his head. He didn't have any gel in his hair, which left it a shade lighter, and very tempting. All she'd have to do was reach out-
NO! she told herself. Keep your hands to yourself! No touching whatsoever! It's bad enough that he's-
"Eek," she squeaked, at a particularly painful prod.
"Sorry." Colin released her foot. "Prop it up, I'll get you a wrap and some ice. Looks like we'll order in again."
"No, no, I can finish, I'll just need to sit in the kitchen."
He regarded her skeptically, but finally assented with a nod. "Okay."
Colin went upstairs to get the bandage wrap. Jaina leaned back against the arm of the sofa, smiling a bit at the thought that Colin was going to pamper her. Then she realized it meant no more bike rides. And crutches. And they were going to Warkworth tomorrow, what was she supposed to do then?
Work had not entered into her mind. Just how was she supposed to get around with a sprained ankle?
Jaina eyed it. Yes, it was definitely sprained, swelling up even as she watched.
She sighed.
Colin came thumping back down the stairs, holding what she assumed to be a first aid kit. "I still think you're mad. I should just take you to the hospital now, rather than submit to your insane whims."
Watching as he began wrapping her ankle, she had an insane whim to push him back on that imitation Persian rug and have her way with him, and wished he'd submit to that.
Instead she let him bandage her foot, and pick her up again.
'I could get used to this,' she thought.
Since her head was under his chin, he couldn't see her grin.
♥♥♥
Jason was less than pleased when Jaina called from the hospital to let him know that she had sprained her ankle and was getting treatment. Naturally, a large amount of his ire was directed at Colin.
Jaina was reluctant to get out of the car when Colin dropped her off later that evening. Her car was still at his place, but he insisted that he would pick her up in the morning, since she wasn't to drive anyway, and they'd carpool as they'd planned. Besides, the doctor had given her something for the pain when they'd x-rayed to check for breaks, and now she was feeling slightly loopy.
He got her crutches out of the back seat and helped her out of the car. She insisted on getting herself to the door, but he followed close behind, feeling guilty that she'd injured herself in his home.
Colin watched the way she expertly propelled herself forward on the awkward devices. "You seem to know your way around those."
"What can I say? I'm a total klutz. This is the... eighth time I've sprained this ankle? Other one's been about... six, I think, and I've also sprained both wrists several times," she said with a shrug, pausing to get her key out.
He rolled his eyes and took her purse, tired of watching her struggle with staying upright on one foot and getting her purse open. They'd left her cookbook at his place.
Colin unlocked the door, and was about to push it open when it swung wide, revealing a wroth Jason.
Taking one look at Jaina's older brother, Colin handed him the crutches and lifted Jaina in his arms. "Here, take those, would you please?"
As Jason glowered, Colin asked Jaina, "Where to?"
"Upstairs, first door on the left," she said, trying not to laugh at the lo
ok on her brother's face. Since the doc had injected her with something, speech had been slightly... odd.
Jaina felt very strange as Colin crossed the threshold with her in his arms. Apparently, he didn't notice anything, since he just walked right up the stairs, past a startled Teniel who'd come out of the kitchen.
He pushed the door open with his foot and walked in, then stopped and blinked.
On one wall, she had a fabric wall scroll of a map of Middle-Earth, along with a map of New Zealand, marking the places where the films had been shot. On the other, she had a poster of Buffy and Angel from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. And she had a Doctor Life poster.
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
“Stole it,” she admitted proudly.
Colin set Jaina on the bed. He looked nervous to her eyes.
As he let go, sliding his arm from under her thighs, Jaina's green eyes widened. She prayed silently he hadn't noticed the hitch in her breath, or the quickening of her heart. Said heart seemed to drop, then jump into her throat when he looked at her.
She hoped her thoughts weren't reflected on her face. It was more than the physical reaction she was feeling. It was more than wishing he'd kiss her.
Looking into his eyes then, she was toast. She knew it. The struggle was all over.
Colin looked away quickly. He pulled something out of his jacket pocket, and handed it to her. "Here's the medicine you were prescribed."
"Thanks," she said, grabbing at it.
Somehow, she missed. He chuckled and grabbed her hand, pressing the pill bottle into it.
Was it the medicine, or did that tingle more than normal? She looked from her hand to him, but he was looking at her braced ankle.
Her heart swelled. He didn't even know what she was feeling, and she wanted to tell him. Jaina opened her mouth, feeling suddenly like telling him would be okay, but then realized it was the drugs talking.
She couldn't ever tell him. Not if she didn't want to drive him away.
"-tomorrow at 6," he was saying. "I know that's in four hours, but try to get some sleep. I don't actually film tomorrow, so I'll just help you with whatever you need."
"You don't have to do that," she said.
He raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Yes, I do. For one thing, you have no other way to get to Warkworth. It's an hour away, after all."
Love's Dance Page 6