Mel was blown away by a few films in the showcase. She would never let anyone see her doubts, but sometimes she wondered if she could really be a director. Did she have that vision like the great directors had? Can you learn it, or are you just born with it?
These were the questions she was pondering as she sat in a coffee shop around the corner from the theater in Encino. It was filled with a variety of people; some were college aged, some older, there was even a family with two small children. Mel was wondering about the wisdom of having two small children out at midnight when someone interrupted her thoughts.
"Funny seeing you here."
Mel looked up and saw her mystery theater guy standing next to her table. He was smiling at her, and she could swear the room got brighter. He looked just as cute as he did earlier outside the theater. His five o'clock shadow was a little darker and his hair was mussed. That only added to his charm.
"Yeah, I like to relax at midnight by pumping more caffeine into my veins," Mel laughed. Alright Mel, tone it down.
"Did you enjoy the films?" he asked.
"I did; they were great."
Why was she sounding like such a dork?
He nodded and smiled again. "Well if you're interested in UCLA film school, you should come to our open house Monday."
Oh no, was he a professor?
"Ah, I might do that," Mel said trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"It's at East Melnitz Hall, 6 pm. I hope to see you there."
"Okay."
The mystery guy started to walk away.
Damn, I don't even know his name.
Before Mel could say anything, he turned, "I'm Brian."
"Mel," she said as she waved her hand.
Brian smiled and went to sit down with a group of guys at a booth in the back of the coffee shop. Mel quickly finished her coffee and left. This was dangerous. Her relationship with her boyfriend was a mess, and flirting with another guy would do nothing to help it.
Nora cursed at herself for the thousandth time. Here she was being treated like a queen by a man who was totally in love with her, and she was letting the words of one random stranger get in her head. Last night Max could tell something was wrong with her; he asked her once if everything was okay, to which she said no, and then he left it at that. She loved that he knew when she needed time to think. She woke up this morning determined to forget the words of the beautiful dark-haired stranger who was obviously trying to just goad her into doubt. Unfortunately she couldn't forget.
Max handed her a glass of wine as they waited on the plane for the pilot to announce their departure.
"Baby," Max said, "We can play this game all the way back to California, or you can tell me what's wrong."
"I'm so mad at myself," Nora confessed. "I'm sorry, Max, I've been acting like a fool."
"What is it?" Max asked as he sat next to Nora and put his arms around her. Nora leaned into his chest and closed her eyes, embarrassed at what she had been thinking these last several hours.
"Nora?"
"Max, don't be mad at me," she said as she buried her face in his chest. She lifted her head and looked Max directly in the eyes, "When we were in Little Italy yesterday and I went to the bathroom, there was a woman in there who said some things that, well, they rattled me."
"Who was she?"
"I don't know, but she knew you," Nora said. "She said that you had a pattern of taking women on a private jet and wooing them and then breaking up with them when you were done."
Nora buried her face again, "And she sounded very convincing."
Nora felt Max's laugh through the rumble in his chest. "Baby, that's ridiculous. Who was this woman?"
"I don't know," Nora said raising her head. "She was beautiful and tall with long black hair."
Max laughed, "Did she have a slight Italian accent?"
Nora felt her stomach drop; Max knew who this was. If he knew this mystery woman, then could what she said be true?
"Yes," Nora simply said.
"That would be Stefania," Max said.
"So, you know her?"
Max nodded, "She is Rodolfo's daughter, and apparently now friends with Daphne."
"Daphne?" Nora asked. "As in, she who you dated before me, Daphne? 'Love your boyfriend' singer Daphne? Wait, what do you mean by 'apparently?'"
"Uh, well, they used to hate each other," Max said. He stood up and started to pace. Nora knew there was something more that Max had not told her. She had started to learn his mannerisms. When he rubbed his hands together or rubbed his face she knew he was considering his options about something. Right now he was doing both.
"What are you not telling me?" Nora finally asked.
Max sighed, "Well, Daphne was not very happy with me after I stopped seeing her and you and I started seeing each other."
"I always felt that she didn't like me."
"Makes sense now," Max muttered.
"What does?"
"Rodolfo told me that Daphne had been in town and convinced Stefania to come stay with her for a few weeks in LA. They never did get along, so I thought it was strange that Daphne could convince her to move. Rodolfo doesn't like the idea, so he asked me to look out for Stefania and help her get set up in town."
"Why didn't Daphne and Stepfania get along?"
Max nervously smiled as he sat next to Nora, "You know I was seeing Daphne." Nora nodded. "Stefania apparently had a crush on me and was waiting for me to visit New York before telling me. She was also giving me time to grieve for Katy, so when I started seeing Daphne she became upset that I was seeing anyone without giving her a chance. And now that I'm seeing you . . ."
"She must really hate me," Nora said. "And now they have a common enemy."
"It doesn't matter what either of them thinks," Max said. "Because I love you."
Nora leaned in and gave Max a kiss that she hoped would make him forget about anyone else. He pulled back and looked in her eyes giving her one of his killer smiles. She hugged him bringing her body in contact with his and loving the feel of him. Everybody has a past, even she did. Why did she get the feeling that Max's was going to be slowly creeping back to haunt them?
Loren woke up to the sound of the waves crashing. The sliding door to the patio outside the bedroom was open and the smell of the ocean was in the air. She kicked off the covers and noticed she was wearing one of Eddie's t-shirts. Grabbing the collar, she held it up to her nose inhaling the scent that was pure Eddie.
She swung her legs over to the side of the bed and was about to stand until she realized that she was only in the t-shirt and her underwear. Her first instinct was to grab the sheet and cover herself. After last night, that was kind of ridiculous. Loren laughed as she thought about all that happened last night. Some parts were funny; some were sexy; some were downright scandalous. She felt herself blush at some of the things that happened between them. She never knew loving someone could be so . . . intense.
Loren freshened up in the bathroom and walked outside on the terrace. Eddie was sitting in a chair, wearing nothing but boxers, facing the ocean with his back to her. Loren looked at the way he held a cup of coffee in his hands and thought about how those hands had learned every inch of her body last night. The same hands that strummed a guitar or floated over the keys of a piano could drive her to the brink of insanity. She felt the now familiar stirrings of passion start to hum throughout her body.
"I thought you'd be exhausted," Loren purred as she leaned against the door jamb.
Eddie turned around and took in Loren's morning look from head to toe. Her hair was disheveled and his t-shirt fell to the top of her thighs. Loren's blush spread to a glow all over her body under his gaze.
"Good morning, beautiful," he smiled. "Come here."
Loren was walking past Eddie to sit on the chair beside him when he grabbed her t-shirt and pulled her down on his lap. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss his neck. Eddie rubbed her back with his hand under her shirt. The feel of his hand on her skin sent chills through her body.
"I guess you're not tired from last night," Eddie laughed.
"Quite the contrary," Loren answered as she pulled her head back to look at him.
"Are you hungry?"
Loren started to kiss him again, and Eddie laughed, "I meant breakfast," he finished while Loren was kissing him.
"Oh, that," Loren laughed. Yeah, that too."
Loren reluctantly got up from Eddie's lap and sat across from him.
"I didn't say you had to go all the way over there," Eddie said.
"Yes I do," Loren laughed. "Otherwise I won't be able to use my hands to eat."
"Point taken," Eddie said.
"I need to do my homework sometime today," Loren said as she started to eat the bowl of fruit in front of her. She was starving. "Just three weeks left, thankfully."
"Think of all the things we could be doing together instead of homework," Eddie said raising his eyebrows.
Her stomach was doing somersaults. Would she ever get used to way he looked at her?
"You're not playing fair," Loren pouted then smiled. "How long have you been up?"
"A couple of hours."
"Do you ever sleep?"
"Some. I usually just need a few hours," he said. "It's hard for me to sleep when my brain starts throwing ideas around."
"Song ideas?"
Eddie laughed, "Kinda." He looked Loren directly in the eyes and sighed. "We have about, what, 12 really good songs?"
Loren didn't know where Eddie was going with this conversation. "Yeah, about."
"If we each had individual albums, we would need twice that."
"Yes," Loren said, "Which is why we need to probably get to work this next weekend writing more songs after we record these."
"Or," Eddie said as he reached across the table for her hand and pulled her back towards him. Loren sat on Eddie's lap again loving the touch of his skin on hers. He kissed and nuzzled her neck as he spoke, "We could record one album."
"What? The two of us? Together?"
"Yeah, some of the songs will be duets, some sang by just you, some by just me."
"What's Jake going to think? Or the record label?"
Eddie pulled back and looked into Loren's eyes. She saw a shadow of doubt creep in. Did he question if she wanted to do this? Loren's dream wasn't to be a solo artist; it was to be with a man who loves her. What better way to do that then to work together at something you both loved? There were so many other people involved in their professional lives; she wondered if they could just make a decision like this.
"You don't want to?" Eddie asked.
Loren smiled, "I think it's a fabulous idea, and the fans will love it. I don't care about anyone else. But there's an even better perk to it."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
Loren leaned into him as she ran her hands along his chest. "All the time we'll get to spend together doing things other than writing a dozen more songs."
Breakfast could wait.
