Finally, this story has begun! I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

I wasn't looking for it
I wasn't ready for the rain

Wonderful Surprise – Shawn Hlookoff

July 7. The day began like any other. Kelly woke up and ran a mile on her treadmill. The run was followed by a hot shower. While in the shower, she thought. She thought about everything. At this point in her life, she had acquired what many would consider success.

At the moment, she was an actress on a hit television show with tons of other opportunities waiting to be taken. It sounded cliché, but what was the point of being successful if you have no one to share it with.

Although she enjoyed the quiet, no doubt about it, she could not deny that her house was a little lonely. As she allowed the conditioner to set, she considered the solutions to her predicament. Maybe a dog. Or even fish, anything to add some life to her home. Once completely clean, she stepped out of the shower, covering herself in a fluffy towel.

Today was the first day on the set of her new project. 'The O.C.' had a small break in filming for two weeks and she had fit this project perfectly so the beginning of work would begin during that break. As she and the rest of the cast participated in the read through, she became acquainted to the faces of those she would be working with for the next few months. She was trying to put faces with the names when a certain person caught her eye.

His name was Aaron Taylor and she had heard things about him. Rachel Bilson had spoken of him on the set of 'The O.C.' before and, according to what she was saying, Aaron Taylor was the next big thing. Kelly had read in a magazine that he had been linked to Paris Hilton. He had classic good looks; his hair was a full, wavy chestnut brown and his eyes were a deep, lively russet color. He had a gorgeous smile and, according to what she heard, an amazing body. He was ten years her junior, she reminded herself. Even so, she could not deny that he was attractive. Really attractive. Chiseled jaw line, oh-so-subtle dimples…

She mentally reprimanded herself. For all she knew, he was dating Paris Hilton. However, she could not stop herself from gazing at him. Suddenly, he looked up and she was caught. Her first reaction should have been to look away and turn her attention back to where it should be. But he was not looking away and neither could she. Someone cleared their throat. Kelly searched the room and then looked down at the script. She realized that it was her line. She stammered as she read her part. She looked back up at Aaron who was smiling at her. He had a gorgeous smile. She looked away, cheeks burning. The rest of the read through went by without any other problems. Kelly practically refused to look up again until it was over. She grabbed her stuff and began to head toward the door. Suddenly, a body slid in front of her.

"Hi. I'm Aaron," he introduced himself and held out his hand. Kelly slid her hand into his.

"I'm Kelly." He smiled at her.

"It's nice to meet you."

"You too." She kept eye contact to a minimum, still embarrassed. She assumed he was here to tease her about the incident during the read through.

"Say, you wouldn't be interested in having lunch with me, would you?"

"Uh..." She hadn't seen that coming. "Well…"

"It's okay. I'm sure you're busy." He had such a look of sincerity in his eyes as he spoke. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

As he left, Kelly couldn't help but continue to think about his smile. It was so… something. She could not think of the right word. It was gorgeous. His teeth were perfectly straight and pristinely white. But it was something else she could not put her finger on.

Every day the next week she went to work and every day that week he asked if she'd like to go out. Every time she came up with an excuse.

Friday night she lay in bed wondering why she kept saying no. Did she not just say to herself that she was lonely? She had considered a golden retriever. Why not Hollywood's golden boy? But he was so young and she wasn't so young anymore. Did he even know that? Sure, she looked better for than many other women her age did. But could Aaron Taylor really think she was his age?

She thought of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. They had a large age difference and they were successfully married. She shook the thoughts from her head. She was putting the cart before the horse. He had asked for lunch, not her hand in marriage. She decided to say yes Monday when he asked her to lunch.

Monday came and she actually felt giddy. But Monday ended and no invite. She had seen Aaron once that day. He had smiled that smile at her and that was all.

The next day she decided to confront him. He spotted her coming across the room. She had to notice his sudden change in demeanor. He looked a little intimidated actually.

"Hey," she started the conversation.

"Hey."

"Do you not eat lunch on Mondays?"

"What?" He looked very confused.

"Well, you didn't ask yesterday if I'd like to go to lunch."

"Well, I asked five days in a row with five 'no's in a row as the response so I figured I'd do you a favor and take the hint," he sounded amused.

"Haven't you ever heard the sixth time's the charm?"

He laughed and she smiled. "No. I've never heard that."

"Well, your loss, I guess. I would have said yes," she began to walk away, smiling at her game. He followed after her as she hoped he would.

"Kelly," he called as he gently held her arm and slid in front of her. "What about today? Do you eat lunch on Tuesdays?"

"Why, yes, I do."

"With me? Will you eat on a Tuesday with me?" Kelly managed to hide her smile..

"I should check my schedule."

"Kelly."

"Yes. I would love to eat with you." Her heart jumped when he smiled larger than normal.

"My car's in Lot A."

She could tell he was excited. She could hear it in his voice even though his face didn't show it. His excitement was contagious and she could feel her blood rushing a bit faster because of him. He led the way to his car. When they arrived at his Jeep, Aaron was the perfect gentleman, opening the passenger door and helping her step inside.

"So… where to?" Aaron asked as he prepared to pull out of the lot. "You pick. I don't know much about L.A. restaurants."

"Oh. Well… McAllister's is pretty good. One of my favorites."

"I actually know where that is." He said as he turned right. "I've never been though. What kind of food do they serve?"

"Oh, a little bit of everything."

"Score." For some reason, the way he said that one word caused her to giggle. Aaron smiled as he heard her laugh. When they arrived, Aaron moved toward Kelly's door to open it for her. However, she had already begun exiting. He offered his hand to her, which she took willingly, and helped her step down from the automobile. The restaurant was crowded but surprisingly quiet.

Aaron and Kelly were seated outside.

"I didn't realize you were new to L.A."

"I'm not that new."

"Oh. I just assumed because you said you didn't know the restaurants."

"I usually eat at home. If I do eat out, it's usually a quick drive through," he explained.

Their waiter came to get their drink order.

"Water with lemon," she told the young guy.

Aaron looked up. "I'll have the same, actually."

"The same? Copy cat," Kelly teased.

"Hey. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I had planned early on to get water and you copied me?" He threw it back at her.

"Nope. That never occurred to me," she stated smugly, causing him to smile.

Within just a few moments, their drinks were delivered

Aaron sipped on his water. "So do you like wearing the pants in the relationship?" He questioned.

"What?"

"You know, having all the control."

"I know what it means. Um… not necessarily. I'm a believer in fifty-fifty control, more or less. That's not all that accurate either; I don't care much for the word 'control'. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I asked you five times in a row to go out with me and you said no. Then I go one day without asking and you ask me." He eyed her suspiciously. "Now either you wanted to wear the pants and instigate our first outing," He said 'outing', not 'date', she noted. "Or you just wanted attention. I don't really have much faith in the latter so…" He allowed his voice to trail off for Kelly's explanation.

"I just ran out of excuses to not eat lunch with you," she was looking at her water.

"Excuses?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you need excuses?"

"Well, now I'm going to feel embarrassed. I was under the silly impression that we would be on a date but…"

"We aren't?"

"I don't know. Are we?"

"I certainly hope so. That's what I want this to be." Kelly looked at him in disbelief and awe. "What's that look for?"

"A few things. Number one would be the way you opened up just now. When this conversation started I thought we'd have twenty minutes of cat-and-mouse before we finally officially labeled this lunch outing. But, within twenty seconds, you told me what you wanted."

"Life is only so long. I can't just wait, hoping I eventually get what I want. I have to get it for myself."

"And what is it that you want?"

"Right now, I really would like to get to know you." Kelly once again was staring at him. "There's that face again! What did I do now? Do you just hate honesty?"

"It's actually the second reason I gave you this look earlier. You asked me on this date and you want to get to know me."

"Isn't that the usual reason for dates?" His voice held amusement.

"Yeah, but why me?"

"Why you?" He sounded honestly baffled.

"Yeah. You can have any girl you want. Why waste your time with me?" She was looking deep into his eyes, searching for her answer.

"Any girl I want?" He chuckled before thinking and then cutting his eyes at Kelly, nodding toward her. "What happens if you're the girl I want? I can just have ya?" He chuckled again before returning to a serious expression. "Waste of time? An amazing person like yourself is not a waste of time ever."

"How would you know I'm amazing? We just met." Now she was amused.

"Because I feel like I already know you."

"How?"

"I've seen your show and…"

"Oh. You have a crush on Kirsten Cohen." She suddenly understood.

"No! I know why you would think that. Believe me. I've got fans who are horribly upset when they see me and I do not have spiky hair and lip rings like Riley Walker." Kelly recognized the name from Rachel telling her about Aaron's more recent portrayals in film. "I was going to say that I've watched you on the show and you are a phenomenal actress and clearly a hard worker. My little sister is a big fan of yours and she's had great things to say about you. It got my attention because she rarely has good things to say about anyone in our line of work." He continued. "I've seen quite a few of your other projects and I was very impressed with what you choose to participate in. I don't want to say I've got a crush on you. It's more of a deep admiration based on respect."

"Wow. I feel sheepish now," she said quietly, her fingers playing with the condensation on her glass of water.

"Don't. I just wanted to make sure you know that I'm not just some crazed fan," he chuckled.

"So if you sister's spoken of me, I assume you know my age."

"No. As far as I recall her saying, you've never established a birth year for the public."

"Well, how old are you?" She decided to turn it around.

"What a rude question. Maybe I'm sensitive about such subjects." He paused. "I am twenty-five."

"I am ten years older than you."

Aaron's eyes shifted back and forth. "Am I supposed to run away?"

"That doesn't…" She studied his warm eyes. "It doesn't bother you?"

"No," his eyes were so sincere.

The waiter stood before them ready for their order. Aaron looked at the menu one last time. He noticed the waiter's impatient demeanor.

"Um… the turkey club sandwich," he hesitated.

"What kind of bread would you like, sir?"

"Whole wheat?"

"Fruit or chips."

"Fruit."

"Would you care to add a soup or salad?"

"No, thank you."

The waiter took Aaron's menu and turned to Kelly. "The usual?"

"Yes," she answered politely.

As the waiter left, Aaron stared at Kelly, a big smile across his face. "What?" She asked, fumbling with a napkin in her lap.

"It really is your favorite restaurant."

"One of them," she sounded confused. She had no idea what the big deal was.

"You know, I've been waiting my whole life to go to a place a have a 'usual.'"

"Your whole life?" She was amused. The fact that he was even talking about her 'usual' plus the absolute amazement on his face had her giggling.

"Tell me what it's like," he was leaning toward her now. His smile was huge and his eyes danced.

"Not all it's cracked up to be," she played along, also leaning forward so he could hear her whisper.

"Really?" He absolutely loved that she was playing along.

"Well, when your order is as unique as mine, it's hard to forget."

Before they could continue, they were interrupted.

"Aaron Taylor!"

He looked up, startled. Two young girls, about 16, ran over to the fence that separated the restaurant from the sidewalk. Their words were shrieks and could not be understood. Suddenly, they both simultaneously took a deep breath.

"We should not bother you while you are eating but, omg, you are… just…our favorite ever." They struggled for words.

"I'm Jennifer," the blonde announced.

"And I'm Stacy," the brunette added.

"And you are amazing," Jennifer stated.

"And so hot," Stacy gushed.

Aaron bowed his head at the compliments and blushed. Kelly looked on in wonder, giggling at his modest blushing. He met her eyes briefly as she giggled.

"Well, thank you, ladies." Upon finally hearing him speak, the girls collapsed into giggles again.

"Can we get autographs and a picture?"

"Of course. That is, if my lunch buddy doesn't mind..." The two girls looked at Kelly, noticing her presence for the first time.

"Of course not." She answered, reaching for the camera. She took pictures of the girls separately with Aaron and then a group shot and, after that; she continued to take pictures as he signed autographs. She watched, impressed, as he interacted with the girls.

"So, Stacy and Jennifer, where are y'all from?"

"Indiana," they answered in unison.

"Cool. What brings you to California? Cheerleading competition?"

"Ew. No," Jennifer answered, causing Aaron to chuckle.

"My dad has some business thing and we had a week off from school," Stacy elaborated.

"So, after much pleading, the parental allowed us to come with them."

"You're not out shopping alone, are you?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, no. Mom's in that store." Stacy turned to point. "We just left to grab ice cream from the place next door."

"Oh, okay. What flavor?"

The girls giggled again. "Chocolate chip cookie dough," Jennifer declared.

"Vanilla," Stacy answered.

"Boring," Jennifer told Stacy.

"Hey! Vanilla's a classic," Aaron defended with a smile.

"Thank you," Stacy said, graciously, mainly to Jennifer. However, Jennifer was subtley eyeing Aaron and Kelly. She elbowed Stacy, who quickly understood what Jennifer was silently stating. They were definitely interrupting more than lunch. Thankfully, the food arrived and Jennifer and Stacy quickly excused themselves.

"Thank you for letting us interrupt and be really annoying!" They apologized and thanked him at the same time.

"No problem," he smiled to them before sitting back down. Kelly was watching him and he knew it. He could feel her eyes on him. Aaron looked up at her, expecting her to let him have it. She did not.

"Go ahead. Give it to me."

"You were really great with them," she praised him. He shrugged. "I'm quite impressed." He was blushing again and it excited Kelly that she had done that.

"I do have a question though." He looked up at her, expecting the worst. "I try not to read tabloids-"

"Wow. That could be the worst way to start a conversation." Now he was really frightened.

"I know." Her voice was apologetic. "I couldn't help it. I bought groceries and they are right at the front." She noticed him bracing himself. "I read something about you and Paris Hilton. Did you two… date?"

He laughed, loudly. "Oh, Kelly." He continued, laughing. "Oh, no. No, definitely not. I would not touch that girl." He was still chuckling. "That whole story is one second of interaction twisted into a pretzel of bologna. My friends from home came to visit and wanted to go to a party. They knew I could get into most anything even though I never do. I'm just not a partier. But I agreed to go because they wanted to."

"Such a giver."

Aaron chuckled at Kelly's statement. "Yeah. So we went and she was there and she said hi. That was it. The room was crowded like any party. Everybody was literally running in to everyone. So when she said hi, she was like five centimeters away from me. Of course, the tabloids made it seem like we had been dancing together or doing something else. I don't know but it was seriously just a 'she said hi, I said hi back' situation."

She smiled. "That's a relief." She winked at him. "So where are you from anyway?" She felt the need to explain. "It's just your accent. It's so subtle. I can only hear it with certain words and not nearly enough so I could pinpoint it."

"Oh. I am from southern Alabama."

"Alabama? Isn't' all of Alabama southern?" She asked with a chuckle. She had not thought he was a southern boy.

"Well, of course. But where I am from, it is basically Florida."

"Ah. Isn't it incredibly hot down there?"

"Well, to someone from Canada I'm sure it's hell. But to someone from Zimbabwe, I'm sure it's heaven." She giggled.

"I see." She was silent for a moment. "I feel like you know so much about me and I know so little of you."

"You've got time," he smiled. "Let's see. My favorite color is blue. I love Taco Bell chalupas." Kelly grimaced. "I know you don't. I have a 30 year old brother and a 16 year old sister. I'm closer to her than I am to him, which is kind of odd. I played football in high school and could have played in college but did not." He was racking his brain for interesting tidbits of himself. His eyes landed back on Kelly. "And I prefer blondes." He mentioned with a smile.

"Oh, do you?" She chuckled between bites of food.

"Mmhmm," he was still smiling.

"Will you explain why you are closer to your sister than your brother? I mean, the age difference is baffling."

"What is it with you an age?" He teased.

"It's just boys usually stick together. Plus," she emphasized. "You are closer in age. It's an 'in addition to,'" she defended herself.

"Well, I'm not really sure. It is just kind of the way it has always been. Bobby has always had that 'I am the older brother I know all' mental attitude, which used to piss me off. Sometimes it still does." He continued. "With Megan, I'm the smart, protective older brother. I like that role. Plus, she and I are more alike than Bobby and I. We are both sarcastic jokers. Bobby's become very cranky in his old age."

"Age, again!" If he was going to call her on it, she would most definitely return the favor.

He smiled at her. "Well, the joke really is that he is not old at all. He's just being 'mature.' Not that the things Megan and I do are immature. I don't want you thinking I have the mentality of a five year old or anything." He caught her. "Age, I know!" He thought for a moment. "Really, it's Julia's fault."

"Who is Julia?"

"Bobby's wife. They got married when he was 24. She used to be a lot more laid back than she is now. I'm not quite sure what happened. She has her excuses but I doubt the majority of them." He chuckled. "Really it started when they gave birth to their twins three years ago. Then Julia started calling Bobby Robert. That was the real turning point."

Kelly was laughing again. "It sounds ridiculous but I understand what you mean." She was still giggling. "So you are an uncle?"

"Yeah. Two little girls and Bobby's oldest is a boy. I've actually got a picture," he mentioned as he reached for his wallet. He handed the picture to Kelly. It was a picture of Aaron in the pool with two little brunettes, one hanging off his arm, the other practically on his head, and a slightly older boy, who hung from the other arm. "Bobby, Jr., which was Julie's brilliant idea, Sally and Susie."

Kelly tried to keep her eyes on the children. "They are beautiful." But how could she when there was also a shirtless Aaron in the picture? The things she heard were true. He did have an incredibly toned body. She reluctantly handed the picture back to him.

"Aren't they?" He agreed as he gazed at the picture.

"You miss them."

"So much. Susie, she's my girl. Of course, Sally loves me. But Susie's an uncle's girl. Bobby's my sports guy. He can just spurt out any statistic and all the player's names," Aaron rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Megan likes being an aunt?"

Aaron chuckled as he put up the picture. "It depends. I'm far away so for me to see my nieces and nephew is a rarity. Megan is surrounded by them all the time so she doesn't cherish her time with them as I do. But she does enjoy it."

Kelly smirked to herself. She had a feeling this would hit a nerve. "Has Megan received her license yet?"

"Oh yes. Despite my best efforts against it. No, I'm joking. She's a good driver. It just makes me feel old to think that she's old enough to drive."

"Is she old enough to date?"

"Oh. Please don't rub it in. She is allowed to date, once again, despite my best efforts."

"You'll have to let go sometime," she smirked at him.

"I suppose," he smiled back.

They finished eating and Aaron returned Kelly to the lot. He drove her to her car and assisted her out of his Jeep.

"Thank you for lunch."

"Thank you for finally saying yes," he smiled at her.

"I had a really good time."

He could see the sincerity in her eyes. "So did I. Maybe one night this week we can go on an actual date."

"What was this?"

"I mean, a traditional date. Dressing up some and I'd like to break twenty dollars for you."

"Only if you want to," she smiled shyly. A strand of hair fell into her face.

Aaron cautiously reached out to tuck the hair behind her ear. She shivered. "I do," he said softly. They held one another's gaze for sometime before she spoke.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Her voice was soft.

"Yup."

She got into her car and he shut the door for her. He waited until she left before he also shifted his Jeep into gear and exited the lot.

Kelly returned home and rushed to her television. She searched her movie channels and finally found one that starred Aaron. She spent her entire night buying movies he was in. She felt a strong need to catch up, to know as much about him as he did about her.

I assure you, the chapters will pick up more momentum. This is just the beginning.