Chapter Twenty-one: L'esprit de l'escalier

"We'll be shooting the second commercial in an hour, doll. They're just clearing off the people in the area." Lazard told her as he fixed her hair. He sighed dreamily. "I can't believe that you were working with vogue magazine yesterday! You looked so high-fashion. I think your fans will be rewarded handsomely for the wait."

Tifa smiled at her stylist. "Yeah. Hmm… has Cloud arrived yet?"

"Having a little crush on your co-worker, now are we?" Lazard said with a little grin.

"What? I do not have a crush on him! Who told you that?" she snapped, feeling a blush creeping up on her.

"A source… Anyway, doll, which shade of pink do you prefer? Baby pink or hot pink?"

"You know that I don't really use pink lipstick. Can't we stick with my trademark red?"

Somebody knocked on her trailer's door. "Hey, can I come in?" It was Bart. He had already opened the door before neither of the trailer's residents could respond. Talk about rude. Bart was wearing jogging pants and a muscle shirt. "I have great news," he said.

"Really?" Tifa asked, acting cool.

"The banners of Heart Locker and the bill board, plus the commercial are causing an uproar! In a positive way, of course." Bart said. He didn't even try to hide his excitement. "They're actually talking about it in the morning gossip shows." The flamboyant director strode over and handed her a slightly thick ream of paper. "Those are all online comments in XY fashion's website, in your official website and social networking site pages."

Ah! Tifa! You're finally back! Waaaah! I missed you!

Whoa, nice come back girl. When are you talking about Genesis? I can't wait for these cardigans to hit the racks!

Those were mainly the topics of the 5000 comments she read. It made her heart swell—the support of her fans was overwhelming. She and her team had succeeded in their goal. There was another knock on the door. "Tifa?"

Unfortunately, it was not Cloud, but Zack.

"Hi Zack!" she said. "Can I… help you with something?"

The blue eyed raven looked at her and bit his lip. "Yeah… er, you're friends with Aerith right? Like, really close friends?"

"Hmm yes, why?"

"Can you help me out with something?"

"Okay… what is it?"

"What are her favorite flowers? I know she likes all the flowers in the world—"

"She basically prefers receiving potted flowering plants than bouquets." Tifa told him with a tentative smile. "Are you guys… you know, dating already?"

The wild haired raven smiled at her and said, "Sort of. I'm asking her tonight!"

"Well, congrats on that Zack."

"Yeah, thanks Tifa! Well… I gotta—oh yeah, I forgot, Cloud asked me to give you this." He strode in and handed her a piece of paper. "Well, bye now."

Tifa unfolded the paper and read his handwritten congratulations. Was he avoiding her now, she thought with pursed lips and furrowed brows. Had last night's event—well, sleeping beside each other—make him feel awkward? Ridiculous… this was the second time that they had slept together! The first time was when they drove over to the outskirts of the metro. So why…?

"Doll, you should be getting a move on now. Shoot's about to start." Lazard whispered.

"Oh yeah, thanks Lazard."

For the second commercial, Tifa and the rest of the models were wearing Bermuda shorts, and blouses. Tifa was wearing black Bermuda shorts with brass buttons, a crisp white blouse and flat shoes.

"Tifa!" Aerith called out from the side lines. She was wearing an off-white pair of Bermuda shorts, a pink long-sleeved blouse and white sandals. Her hair was let loose, while Tifa's was styled into a messy updo.

"Alright people! Come over! We're starting!"

Cloud finally appeared, laughing at something that Zack had said. The blonde was wearing navy Capri shorts, a white collared shirt, a matching navy V-neck vest and sneakers, while Zack wore black capris and a vintage rockband shirt. Cloud smiled at Tifa and turned away again.

"Okay Tifa, Aerith go over there. Models! Girls! Take your places there! Zack, Cloud!"

The two ladies walked over to the cobblestone path of the park, where Aerith was given a fluffy little puppy and Tifa was given a golden retriever. "You'll be walking the dogs along the path here, and the boys over there will see you. They'll approach you and you will 'talk'." The crew member instructed them.

"Alright, thanks."

'Heart Locker commercial number 2 take 1!' yelled the guy holding the clapboard.

"Girls, talk animatedly! Giggle! Be happy!" Bart shouted.

From across the park, Tifa saw Cloud sitting down on the ground, supposedly reading while Zack played with a dog. Suddenly, a crew member appeared, holding a chew toy. He waved it in front of Tifa's dog, and it yapped and wagged its tail. 'Bark! Bark!'

"Hey! Stop doggy! Hey! Ah!" Tifa said, as the crew member ran towards the direction of the boys.

"Let go of the leash, Tifa! Then chase it!"

She did, and the dog ran after the chew toy. The crew member threw the dog at Cloud, who quickly caught it. Tifa sprinted towards their direction. "Stop Tifa! Stop!" But it was too slippery. Cloud stood up to prevent her from tripping, but they fell on the nearby pond.

It was soft. Really, really soft… and warm.

Tifa opened her eyes, and met Cloud's bright, sapphire gaze.

"Brilliant Tifa! That's an absolutely wonderful shot!"

They pulled away, both of them with eyes bulging open.

I just kissed Cloud… right…? Tifa thought, blushing furiously. Her make-up was no match to her heated up face. Nobody spoke a word, it was as if everybody was looking at the two of them. It was highly possible—no, it really was possible. But Tifa didn't have the guts to meet their faces. Especially Cloud's.

Quickly getting up from the pond, she took the dog in her arms and ran towards the trailer. Her heart was pounding so loud against her ears, but she heard Bart announce that the shoot was over.

"Tifa! Wait! Hey!" Cloud yelled.

Slam. She slid down onto the floor, touching her lips with trembling fingers. The retriever whined beside her and decided to walk around the trailer with its dirty, wet paws. Cloud is the second man she had ever kissed. Genesis had been the first to claim her lips, and he found the fact endearing. Tifa drew in big ragged breaths and chanted, "Calm down, Tifa, you didn't kiss him on purpose. It was an accident."

Knock, knock. "Tifa? Doll? Can you open the door, it's just me." Rufus said calmly from the other side of the door.

Mustering all her strength, Tifa managed to open the door with shaky legs. Her manager couldn't help but chuckle at his talent's predicament. "You're so funny, Tifa."

She frowned and opened the door to admit her manager in. "Huh… why?"

"You're acting like a shy thirteen year old. Come on, darling, you've been kissed a hundred times now, why so coy?"

"I don't really consider my on-screen kisses real kisses, Rufus." Tifa said, leaning on dresser's countertop.

"Hmm… what's this dog doing here! It's got the carpet all muddy!"

Typical Rufus, she thought. Leave her manager to change a topic without an effort.

"I er, forgot to put her down when I ran off."

Knock, knock.

"Who is it? The door's open." Rufus said, still studying the ruined carpet. "This carpet was from Paris, Tifa. Paris."

The door swung open to reveal a wet and dirty Cloud. His face was red too. Tifa's eyes widened, and she gasped a little. "Tifa…" he said.

"I'm going to call the carpet cleaners," Rufus said, striding out of the trailer with quick grace.

Cloud cleared his throat and stared at his muddy kicks. "Um…"

"Look Cloud, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"she started.

"I guess we've got a breach of contract here, right?" he told her. "Well, actually, we've got a breach of agreement, but it's the same thing." The blonde shrugged.

Gaia, your shoulders…

"Well… yeah…"

"I'm sorry for that…" he looked up at her. "But I'm going to tell you something, even if I think you're not going to like it."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to bring a calm front. "What do you want to tell me?"

"I… no, forget about it. Anyway, I'll be leaving now. See you."

He turned to leave. She opened her mouth to say something but snapped it close again and just watched him go.

Lazard burst in the trailer a few moments later, looking like Christmas had come early. "Oh-em-gee Tifa! What happened? Did he continue the kiss?"

"No. I have a feeling that he's going to start avoiding me now." Tifa groaned.

"Oh don't talk rubbish, doll. He loves you. Haven't you seen the way he looks at you lately?"

"Um, no."

Her stylist shook his head. "Well from now on, you're going to start paying more attention!"

"Er… okay," Tifa mumbled.

"Why don't we get some lunch? VOGUE's sending over a raw copy of your photos from yesterday's shoot later."

"Alright."

Author's Note: Belated Merry Christmas, my lovelies! I hope you all got a lot of gifts. Also, I also hope that you enjoyed this update! Don't forget to review this baby, guys! :]

The title of this update, l'esprit de l'escalier, is a French term used to describe the feeling you get when you leave a conversation and think of all the things you should have said. There is no English term for this.

PS – I won't be able to update again before the year ends, so let me tell you guys how grateful I am for all the support. Please know that I appreciate every single review, PM, favorite and alert that you have given me this year. I love you guys!

…Yeah, well before I get any mushier, I'm going to go and leave you guys. ;)

Victoria Chrystallis