by Twyla Turner
“Yeah. Some of the guys on set wanted to go out and have some drinks after having a rough few days of shooting. We asked around and someone told us about Shoreline Village. We liked the way this place looked so we stayed.” His voice softened, “I’m glad we did.”
Avoiding his last statement she commented on the former. “This is a great place! We come here all the time. It helps that my friend Alyssa is dating the bartender.” She couldn’t believe he was still here hanging outside of the ladies’ room. “Why are you hanging around outside of the ladies’ room?” Inner cringe, did she really just ask that?
“Well I saw you run off around the corner and I wanted to make sure your virtue was protected. And besides I wanted to get a chance to talk to you without your friends eavesdropping.”
“But why? Are you interested in one of them and need my help?”
“No. I think I’m brave enough to talk to a girl on my own.”
“Oh. Okay.” She looked down unable to look in his eyes any longer. She knew how this worked. Guys like that weren’t interested in her. Add to the fact that he was a celebrity and she knew she didn’t have a chance. She wasn’t even sure she wanted one. Too scary.
He brought his hand up to Sunny’s chin to gently lift her face back up, her eyes met his. His touch and the words to follow delivered a one-two punch to her gut. “I’m interested in you, Sunny. And I didn’t want your friends eavesdropping, because I don’t need their help to talk to you.”
She could’ve sworn her heart dropped down to her vagina, and started a steady throbbing down there that had her thighs clenching together.
“So ah…you um…” God bless America! At that point she just squeezed her eyes shut to block out his face so she could think. Fat bit of good that did her! His face was now burned into her retinas.
“You’re adorable.” She heard the smile in his voice.
“Yeah well you’re stupid fucking sexy.” Her eyes popped open as she clapped both hands over her mouth. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding! Did I really just utter those words? She must have because his head was thrown back and his shoulders were shaking with laughter.
He wiped the tears from his eyes and his laughter settled into a soft chuckle. “You’re a breath of fresh air Sunny!”
“I would think you’d be running away screaming at this point. I either can’t talk at all, or babbling, or saying completely inappropriate things. You should walk away now, before I embarrass myself any further.” She tried looking everywhere but at him.
He stepped closer to her. “Run? No I don’t think so. And I like the inappropriate things you say. In fact I can’t wait to hear the next crazy thing that comes out of that delectable mouth.” Again he grabbed her chin and forced her face up to his and her insides liquefied when she looked into those ridiculous blue eyes and saw...lust. Lust? At me?! “You have the most amazing lips I think I’ve ever seen.”
Finally, a man that appreciated her lips. His face started to inch towards hers, but at the last minute she turned and gave him her cheek. Damn! Now why did I go and do that? Why, I know why. Because once his lips touch mine I’m a goner and would probably be in and then out of his bed in two seconds flat. And I’d just be another notch on his bedpost. And I’m pretty sure that is one gnarled bedpost. So no matter how famous and drop-dead gorgeous he is I deserve better than that. Must. Stay. Strong.
Just a little pissed off that he would try to take such liberties with her so soon after meeting her, Sunny actually forgot all about her star-struck state of mind to let him have it. Putting her hands on his sizable chest and giving a little push. Jesus, Mary and Joseph I’ve never felt pecs like that in my life! Focus.
“Look here buddy. I don’t care who you are, you just don’t go around taking kisses like they’re free or something! I deserve better than that. I’m not a prude or super old school or anything like that, but I deserve a date first. And no, I’m not a gold-digger either. But a man shows that he respects and appreciates a woman by taking her out on a date, first. Not by mauling her before he’s even bought her a drink, at the very least!” Oh Lord, had she just really berated Gabriel Wolf, superstar extraordinaire? Like he’d really take her out on a date? Great! She hadn’t had sex in four years and not only did she just push a guy completely away; this particular guy, any woman would jump at the chance to be in his bed at least once. Well it was too late to take it back now.
“Okay,” he said softly. Sunny’s eyes shot up to his and her jaw fell to the floor when she saw the sheepish but somewhat impressed look on his face. He probably was used to getting whatever he wanted.
“Okay?”
“Yes. I was a jerk. What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” His face was completely and unbelievably sincere.
“Well I have to work all day. And then after that I have a show at Speakeasy. And don’t you have a movie to shoot?” Am I really having this conversation right now?! He. Gabriel Wolf. Was asking her out on a date?! Never, even in her most vivid imaginations would she have guessed this would happen when she woke up this morning. Wasn’t she just drowning herself in Ben & Jerry’s about three hours ago?
“Yes. But tomorrow we’re only filming during the day. You have a show? Doing what?” He seemed genuinely interested. Boggles the mind.
“I’m in a little music duo called Folk You. Don’t laugh! We do covers and play just about anything.”
“Folk You?” He struggled not to laugh. “That’s an awesome name! I love your voice. What time do you start?”
“Nine. And we’ll play till eleven. But you’re not going to come are you? I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate knowing you’re in the audience.”
She could’ve sworn a slightly hurt expression crossed his face. But it was gone before she could be sure. “Then what about the next night, Friday? I’m actually off the entire day. I’m not in the scenes they’ll be shooting that day.”
“I don’t work at all on Friday either.”
“That settles it then. You’re spending the day with me.”
“I uh, well um…shit! How do you know I don’t have plans that day? I might have to do laundry or wash my hair or something.”
His eyes twinkled with the knowledge that he had her. “Do you? Have plans, that is?”
“Well no, but-”
He interrupted her, “But nothing. I’m taking you out to have a good time and show you that I can be a complete gentleman.” A few seconds ticked by as he held her gaze with those eyes. She couldn’t take it.
“Okay, fine.”
“Good. Now shall we get back before your friends think you’ve been kidnapped?” She started nodding her head, completely disoriented from the last five minutes. That’s when he whipped off his hat, bowed at the waist while grabbing her hand and kissing it. Lord, help me. I am totally and utterly fucked! Just the act of him finally revealing all his hair had her mesmerized. It was a luxurious head of jet black, thick, and wavy hair. It could easily rival Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey’s hair. The last movie she saw him in, it was cut short for the role he played and it was hot like that too. But now her fingers itched to touch it, to run her fingers through it. She could just imagine pulling it while his head was between her…STOP! Stay strong. Spending any time alone with this man was going to be hazardous to her health. She just knew it.
As they walked back to the bar he was close enough to her that their arms kept brushing back and forth. And even though there were clothes between their skin it did little to help the flip flops going on in her stomach.
Sunny peeked up at him nervously. “So…should I not mention who you are to my friends? They’ll be dying to know details.”
They rounded the corner to the patio, which had cleared out quite a bit. “Well, seeing as how the crowd has dwindled down. I don’t think it’ll be a problem. I just wanted a quiet evening without being bombarded by a lot of questions and autographs.”
There were a few people inside the bar. But just Alyssa, Renee and Renee�
�s boyfriend Marco were left on the patio. As they walked up the girls were grinning all over themselves and ready to burst with questions.
“Uh hey guys.” Sunny fidgeted nervously, this was going to be interesting. “So this is Gabriel…Wolf.”
Gabriel pushed his hat back on his head bringing his whole face into the light. Sunny scrunched up her face in anticipation as she heard their sharply drawn in gasps.
“Holy shit!”
“What the…?!”
“No way!”
They all spoke at once, so she couldn’t tell who said what.
“Gabriel, this is Alyssa, Renee and Marco.” Sunny pointed to each one as she said their names. And in kind Gabriel reached out to shake their hands.
“Nice to meet you guys.” He was totally at ease with their astonishment and just brushed it off as nothing.
“Uh huh.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Mm hmm.”
Sunny was pretty sure that she heard them sigh, even Marco! Well at least she wasn’t the only one that lost all motor function when around him.
As Sunny and Gabe took two seats next to each other at the table she noticed the table where Gabriel and his buddies had been, was empty. “Hey, where did your friends go?”
“Oh they were getting pretty tired. So before I went to find where you had run off too, I just told them to head back home. I’ll get a cab later.” A beautiful smile spread across his face.
“You should’ve been a Colgate toothpaste model.” She should probably stop saying everything that crossed her mind.
“Look who’s talking! You have a breathtaking smile, Sunny. It was the first thing I noticed about you when you walked onto this patio.” The compliment sent shivers down her spine. Dammit, but she didn’t know if she liked this feeling. I’m an optimistic person, but this is just too much.
“Uh thanks.” She’d never been completely comfortable with compliments. And was really uncomfortable now, coming from an incredibly gorgeous man that sees million dollar smiles on a daily basis. Literally, because she was sure the dentists in Hollywood got paid millions to keep those pearly whites bright.
“So what do you do Sunny? Besides singing gigs at night and charming the pants off of every guy you encounter?” Sunny gapped at him as if he were crazy. Gabriel’s eyes were focused completely on her. His long-lashed blue eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. It was seriously unnerving.
Sunny shrugged, always embarrassed by the answer to this question. “I work in retail. Nothing special. And trust me I don’t ‘charm the pants off of’ anyone.”
Gabriel leaned forward capturing Sunny’s gaze and holding it, letting her know he meant business. “I doubt that. Maybe they’re just too stupid to admit or realize it. The guys here in SoCal can be pretty dense and insecure, looking for supermodels to validate their self-worth.”
She looked away, unable to hold the connection.
Realizing Sunny’s discomfort he changed the subject. “So why do you work in retail? With your personality and talent you should be doing something else. And by what I can tell from the short amount of time I’ve known you, you seem pretty intelligent.”
“She’s actually a writer!” Alyssa piped in. “She wants to write… Ouch!” Sunny kicked Alyssa under the table, cutting her short. Gabe looked curiously at Alyssa.
“You write? What do you-”
Sunny cut him off, “I don’t know how you can tell I’m intelligent. I have barely been able to form two proper sentences since you first spoke to me.” Unfortunately he didn’t realize that this subject made her just as uncomfortable as the previous one. And Sunny didn’t want him to know that she wrote screenplays. She didn’t want him to think that she was interested in him for what he could do for her career.
He smiled at that. “Trust me I can tell. Plus, stupid people don’t have a whole lot going on behind the eyes. Like it’s all blank in there, or something. There’s a whole lot of thought going on behind your eyes. It has me dying to figure out just what you’re thinking. Though, I think I already know.”
“I hope not.” Sunny looked down at her pint glass, trying to be more interested in the condensation sliding down the sides. She felt like she was all of a sudden under a microscope.
Gabe reached his hand out and his thumb caressed a path down the side of Sunny’s cheek. When he reached her chin, he tipped her face up to his forcing her to look at him once again. “Sunny, you’re like an open book. And I already know the story. But I want to read it anyway.”
Well….shit! That had to be the most amazing line she’d ever heard. Hands down! He couldn’t be serious. He looked serious. He was also an amazing actor. But why take the time out to bamboozle her. She was no one. This was all so confusing.
Sunny’s friends were no help. They were completely silent. Their heads were moving back and forth, like they were watching a tennis match. Their mouths hanging open in wonder. She hoped they all had a bug fly in their mouths.
Feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation she stood up. “I think I need another beer. I’ll be right back.”
She quickly made her way towards the bar. A large hand on her arm stopped her as she stepped through the doorway. She looked up to see Gabe’s face filled with worry as he pulled her towards a quiet corner. “Hey, are you alright? Did I say something to upset you?”
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Sunny went for it. “Look, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go on that date Friday.”
“And why not?”
“Because I don’t like being made a fool of, that’s why!” Gesturing from his head to his toes and back again. “And because you’re…you.” Then sweeping her hands from her head to toes in disgust, “And I’m this! Guys that look like you don’t look at girls like me. And those are guys that aren’t even famous, with ladies lined up around the corner waiting for even a passing glance to tell their friends about. I don’t know why you’ve taken an interest in me. Isn’t there some smokin’ hot actress or supermodel you should be dating? Because this”, she waved her hand between the two of them, “is bound to end in disaster.”
“You don’t see yourself very clearly, do you?”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong Gabriel. I see myself very clearly. A face that can pass for pretty and a chubby body with a fan-freakin-tastic personality. But it’s when I look at myself through a man’s eyes, that it all becomes glaringly clear. ‘Fun to flirt with and make a couple of harmless passes at, but when it comes down to who I want on my arm in public, only a walking talking Barbie doll will do.’”
His jaw was clenched and ticked as if in anger. “You’re comparing me to a bunch of blind insecure douchebags! I have a mind to kiss you senseless just to show you how desirable you are.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her. “But I promised to take you on a proper date first. In the few hours since I first laid eyes on you, you’ve blown every woman I’ve ever met out of the water. Your parents were right to name you Sunny, because something about you radiates light. Everyone around you sees it, even the guys, but they’re either: too intimidated or awestruck to admit it. But not me.”
He raised his hand to her face and she held her breath. He stroked his thumb down her cheek to her chin. She must have looked like a deer in headlights. “I just don’t get it.”
“Sunny, I’ve been surrounded by the most; shallow, insipid, devious and manipulative ‘beautiful’ females you could imagine. And I’ve never been ashamed to say it till now, but I’ve had them all in my bed. I need this. To be around you.”
Sunny was still skeptical. How do you go from being ignored by the general male population, to being pursued by People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive and not think that you’re being Punk’d? Oh what the hell! More than likely she’d end up brokenhearted. But at least she’d be brokenhearted with a great story.
“So you’re sure I’m not being Punk’d?”
For the second time tonight he threw back his head
in laughter. Then he grabbed her face in both hands…huge hands, which basically covered the majority of her face. And he gently kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re amazing. Now let’s get you one more beer and then I’ll take you home.” He took her hand in his and pulled her over to the bar.
Chapter 3
Gabe couldn’t believe the turn the whole day had taken. All for the better. He even felt more inspired, and couldn’t wait to get back on the movie set to see if his performance would improve. All of this was because of the woman walking next to him.
Sunny had let him buy her another beer. He loved how unpretentious and down-to-earth she was. A girl in Southern California that willingly drank cheap beer? Even when someone else was paying? Huh?
As the bar had closed, her friend Alyssa decided to stay while her boyfriend closed down, so that Gabe could walk Sunny home alone. He was grateful to her friend.
She didn’t say much on the way, except for a few words to guide him in the right direction of her building. Gabe could tell that she was deep in thought. He just hoped that they were good thoughts and not thinking up other excuses to get out of going on a date with him.
He couldn’t believe how someone as beautiful as Sunny would think so badly about herself. Gabe felt a very real rage radiate through him. He wanted to punch every guy that made her feel less than amazing, in the throat. He unclenched his fists, and tried to calm his mind. Starting to realize that maybe the crappy way she was treated in the past would only be to his advantage. Because when he was through, she’d have no doubt that he very much meant everything he said and did.
“Why are you so quiet?” Gabe looked down at her. “I hope you’re not trying to find another reason not to go out with me.”
Sunny stopped in front of an old, cool looking building that Gabe knew had to have been built in the 1920’s. She turned to look up at him, “This is me.” She bit down on her bottom lip, making Gabe do an internal groan. Unaware what she was doing to him she continued, “No, I’m not thinking of another reason. I was just trying to process this whole crazy night. But anyway, thanks for the beer and walking me home. You didn’t have to do that.”