Limelight
By: Karisma
Chapter Four
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Alt, Romance
Parini@hotmail.com
Darien Eddington raced along the highway away from Mina's home,
thoughts racing through his head at a speed to match his luxury car. What
had possessed him to kiss her like that? Especially considering the delicate
situation that their relationship was in right now. And what had taken over
him at the studio earlier that day? Any further, and he would have probably
been making love to her right there, in front of the entire working crew.
But something had been different about her, her complete shyness and
wide-eyed innocent look had thrown him. All through the shoots, Mina had a
look of awe etched on the gorgeous face that—if he didn't know any
better—said this was all new to her. And when he had held her just like he
had so many times, her reaction was completely different. It wasn't
mechanically responsive or any act showing that she was used to his
touch—no, he could swear she actually trembled at the feel of his lips on
her skin.
So what was all this? His first thought was that this was some kind of
game, but that couldn't be it. Mina was a great actress, but not that great
as to fake such a response. No, something about Mina Kinsley had changed
while he had been gone, and he had every intention of finding out what.
****
Serena woke up, exhausted once again. Despite being extremely tired
last night, she had finally fallen asleep at a late hour, her thoughts being
clouded by a certain dark-haired leading man and what her next course of
action should be. Now, on top of acting and having her picture taken and
going to a movie premiere, she also had to play loving girlfriend to a man
she was reluctantly growing attracted to.
The best thing to do was play cool and avoid any intimate situations at
all costs. Simple as that.
Serena realized just how not simple it was when she arrived at work.
"Mina!" A cheery voice called and Serena whirled around to be caught in
a tight hug with a slightly short, brunette.
She patted the stranger's back awkwardly, her mind searching for who
this woman might be. She came up empty.
"Mina, you've met my wife before," the dry voice of Nigel saved her and
she smiled largely at the vivacious woman.
"Of course, Elaine. It's wonderful seeing you." Serena squeezed
Elaine's hands tightly and immediately liked the slightly older woman with
the warm, brown eyes. She didn't mind the changes the woman had made in the
original script she had loved so much. To each his own, Serena mused as she
sat next to the eager, excited lady.
"I had the most wonderful idea yesterday!" Elaine gushed, her chocolate
brown eyes sparkling with giddiness that Serena found both contagious and
amusing.
"Yes, darling. It was simply wonderful." Nigel sighed, rubbing his
forehead.
Elaine pointedly ignored her husband and continued. "Anyway, it is the
most romantic addition to our love story. I was watching the old commercial
we made for the movie and I decided it just didn't work." she paused. "So I
have decided to make a much more romantic commercial, one that depicts the
true passion between Chloe and Jared. One that will make women everywhere
want to see this movie over and over again. Elaine clapped enthusiastically
while she practically bounced off the seat, looking very much like a child.
"Why—it'll be bigger than TITANIC!"
Serena took one look at Elaine's dreamy face found herself thinking
Elaine acted out her silly fantasies about love through Chloe and Jared. But
if Elaine could keep her teenage-like, idealistic views this far into her
adult life, then more power to her. Besides, Nigel didn't exactly seem like
the overly-romantic, knight-in-shining armor type.
As if by cue, Nigel rolled his eyes and muttered, "If I remember
correctly, TITANIC had a sad ending, much like the original ending of
Missing You."
Elaine shook away her husband's tirade as if the poor woman was used to
these kinds of outbursts daily.
"So we shoot this and then tomorrow we begin to film the other ending
to the movie?" Serena shrugged. "It's a commercial, it'll take like what—ten
minutes?"
Nigel began to laugh, tipping his head back and letting out the first
genuine chuckle Serena had heard from him yet. "Ten minutes!" He gasped.
"You obviously don't know Elaine." With that he walked away, still chortling
and leaving Serena with a very unsettling feeling.
Elaine clapped her hands loudly for everybody's attention. "Okay,
people. We only have so much daylight left. Let's get moving!"
Serena groaned inwardly as she was directed to a trailer. Why did she
have a bad feeling about this? Why did everything manage to go wrong for
her? And why, oh why, had she agreed to this ridiculous plan to begin with?
****
The park they arrived at was indeed a beautiful place, with trees
placed strategically and the manicured grass. Bushes filled with fragrant
flowers trimmed the entire outline. The natural lushness of the park, not
hindered by the hordes of people, seemed much like a fantasy in a different
world instead of a square in New York .
They began shooting immediately. As soon as Serena had put on one of
her character's sundresses and her hair had been styled accordingly, she had
been shipped off into the "capable" hands of Elaine along with Darien.
There, she had told them her plan for the commercial.
"Okay I talked this out with the camera men and they say it'll be a
splendid shot. All you two have to do is lie down on the grass."
Serena's head snapped toward the casual women. Lie down on the grass?
What was this woman on?
Darien apparently had the same thoughts as he raised a dark brow
sardonically.
Elaine saw their expressions and coaxed them. "Oh, it'll be fun. Come
on." She led them to a spot that was on perfectly green grass with a
background of colorful flowers. "Now Serena lie down on your back."
"Excuse me?" Serena blurted out, her blonde eyebrows raised to
practically their hairline.
"Like this," Elaine let herself fall to the lush grass and laid down,
looking up at Serena and Darien earnestly. "Now come," she patted the spot
next to her. Serena slowly did so and felt Elaine get up. She saw both their
faces peering down at her and felt utterly ridiculous. Elaine's looking
delighted and Darien's perfectly amused. "Now, Darien." She took his arm so
he was facing her. "You will be right here."
They walked away from Serena and with a slightly painful roll of her
eyes she saw Darien's black shoes a few feet away from her head. This was a
romantic commercial? Not that she was complaining—the further he kept his
distance, the better. Of course, they would have to be close tonight at
dinner. She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought. Serena felt a foreign
fluttering in her stomach, and after convincing herself it was due to
nervousness of playing Mina with so intimate a man, she settled down. She
opened her eyes and nearly fainted. Darien's face was directly above hers,
his dark eyes locked with her lighter ones.
He was propped up on his elbows, which were crossed way down by his
stomach. The awkward position looked slightly uncomfortable, but Darien's
face remained cool, not one emotion flickering across.
"Okay!" Elaine called, her voice high and excited. "Okay, Darien take
the rose, yes!"
Serena's eyes closed reflexively as the soft petals of a red flower
were traced across the features of her face. Darien's strong fingers lightly
held the fragile flower, moving it along the counters of her eyelashes,
cheekbones, nose, and finally lips.
She shivered, forgetting everything but her—and of course Darien.
"Turn toward me, Serena!" Elaine commanded.
Slightly dazed, she followed the order too late.
"Okay, once again from the top. This time, Serena smile softly and
slowly turn toward the camera. The next take was better, and the next even
more so—and so on and so on. Finally, Elaine was satisfied enough that they
could use film. It took three tries, but finally, viewing the entire scene
from a small screen, Elaine was happy.
"That's a wrap, folks!" Nigel said loudly, joy evident in his tone.
Serena happily got up from her position and stretched. She turned
slightly to see Darien do so also. She quickly walked back to her trailer,
hoping that Darien would either forget about their date or be too tired to
go through with it. No such luck.
She opened the door after changing, pulling her light jacket tighter
across her chest against the cool breeze to find Darien waiting outside for
her. With his back turned to her, Serena had a moment to stare at him. His
appearance was perfect as usual in presses slacks and a teal dress shirt.
She shyly walked up to him. "Hi," she said softly and smiled as he
spun around.
"Ready?" he asked tautly.
Serena frowned at his demeanor and nodded. He led her to his luxury
car. She slid into the passenger seat, nervously tugging on her flowered
ankle-length skirt. She shrugged off her jacket in the warm car and lay it
folded on her lap. When Darien started the car, she anxiously fidgeted with
her ice blue tank top, picking invisible lint off sporadically. This was
going to be a long night.
****
Darien watched her squirm with increasing annoyance. Why was she acting
like he was the big, bad wolf? Why was she so incredibly jumpy—did she know
about tonight? Why wasn't he angrier at her? And why did she have to look so
damn sexy and sweet all at the same time with her hair all loose around her
shoulders?
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind while clutching the steering
wheel tighter. He turned into a free parking space of the Chinese
restaurant, and as he shifted to undo the buckle on his seatbelt, he
collided with a blonde, surprisingly hard, head.
"Oh," he heard her gasp in surprise and pain.
They both lifted their heads up simultaneously, causing their faces to
be centimeters apart. He sucked his breath in at her proximity and
immediately the light smell of citrus and wildflowers assaulted his senses.
"You changed your shampoo," he said quietly, making no effort to move
in the slightest.
"Oh," was her soft reply, she stared right back into his eyes, as if
frozen.
"It's nice," Darien didn't blink, afraid to miss one moment of her
liquid eyes wide with something indefinable. He leaned in slightly, fully
prepared to kiss her when he heard her clear her throat and say:
"I'm starved. Should we go in?" Like a shot, she was out of the car
and Darien had a second to berate himself of what he had almost done. He had
been perfectly willing to kiss her a few seconds ago--hell, he was still
willing! But those impulses were completely out of the question considering
the conversation topic he had planned for tonight.
He watched as Mina smoothed her skirt before sitting, thanking the
waiter for the menu and opening it, biting her lip as she looked among the
choices. He followed the small, straight teeth sinking into her red lower
lip with fascination before shaking his head.
Moments later, they both ordered and were once again left alone in the
quiet atmosphere of the authentic restaurant. He saw Mina glance down at her
napkin and then anxiously pull and tug at it. Her gaze lifted to look around
the room, the other diners, the waiters, anywhere but at him.
"I don't see any reason in pretending anymore—I suppose we both know."
He began, his voice cold.
Mina's eyes flew to his, panic written all over her lovely face. Well,
that settled it—she knew.
"W-What?" she asked shakily.
"I think it's gone on long enough. You've done what you've been asked
to do…there's no use going on."
Absolute terror struck her eyes and she continued to stutter. "W-What
do you mean?"
He sighed, exasperated. Why on earth was she playing dumb? Had Nigel
put her up to this—keep him interested with a game? "Mina, you know exactly
what I'm talking about."
"Oh," she responded tentatively. "It's about…"
He stared at her for a moment, wondering what exactly had caused her
sudden amnesia. There was nothing left to do. "Our relationship, Mina—or
lack thereof."
"Okay, um—before we go any further let me just get this one thing
straight: you're breaking up with me, right?" She didn't seem the least bit
angry, confusion was the only emotion written on her features.
Well, breaking up wasn't exactly the right word for the delicate—not to
mention unusual—situation they had been put in, but if that was the only way
she could face it, so be it.
"Yes," he said slowly.
"And how long have you been planning to break up with Mi—me," she
fumbled and caught herself quickly. Darien frowned, who talked about
themselves in the third person? But back to the subject at hand…
"I've been thinking about it for some time—we both know it was going
nowhere—and since the project is almost over, I figured now was the time."
Mina's face suddenly grew very relieved and Darien grew as confused as
she had been earlier. What was with this woman's mood swings. She now looked
glad about how he had answered rather than being angry that he had felt this
way so long and had done nothing about it. Her expression changed yet again,
her brow furrowing in puzzlement and Darien sighed inwardly. He felt another
round of twenty questions coming on since Mina was obviously playing dumb
tonight for some reason unknown to him.
"What project?"
"The movie," Darien said incredulously, struck by how ignorant she
seemed to be.
"But what does our relationship have to do with the movie?" She looked
down at the cold food in front of her that they both hadn't even realized
arrived and pushed it forward slightly, indicating her lack of appetite.
But Darien was too busy choking down the water he had taken a sip of
before his dinner date had finished speaking, trying not to spit the
mouthful out. Of all the obtuse questions she had asked on this "date", this
had to take the cake. He couldn't take any more, what the hell did she think
was going on here? He wasn't going to be playing with, especially not by
Mina.
"Mina," he started, his voice sounding taut and stretched to even his
own ears. "I don't know what you think you're pulling, but don't you think
for one moment I'm going to fall for it. The famous "Kinsley charm" isn't
going to work this time. " He sneered, enjoying the struck look on her face.
And it was Serena's turn to spit out her water as he finished his speech.
"We both know that this entire "relationship" isn't real and I don't care
how much you or Nigel want it to continue until after we premiere the movie.
It ends now. The great publicity and box office charts can go to hell, I
want out. Make up a story; I don't really care who dumped who as long as
it's officially, completely, absolutely over."
By: Karisma
Chapter Four
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Alt, Romance
Parini@hotmail.com
Darien Eddington raced along the highway away from Mina's home,
thoughts racing through his head at a speed to match his luxury car. What
had possessed him to kiss her like that? Especially considering the delicate
situation that their relationship was in right now. And what had taken over
him at the studio earlier that day? Any further, and he would have probably
been making love to her right there, in front of the entire working crew.
But something had been different about her, her complete shyness and
wide-eyed innocent look had thrown him. All through the shoots, Mina had a
look of awe etched on the gorgeous face that—if he didn't know any
better—said this was all new to her. And when he had held her just like he
had so many times, her reaction was completely different. It wasn't
mechanically responsive or any act showing that she was used to his
touch—no, he could swear she actually trembled at the feel of his lips on
her skin.
So what was all this? His first thought was that this was some kind of
game, but that couldn't be it. Mina was a great actress, but not that great
as to fake such a response. No, something about Mina Kinsley had changed
while he had been gone, and he had every intention of finding out what.
****
Serena woke up, exhausted once again. Despite being extremely tired
last night, she had finally fallen asleep at a late hour, her thoughts being
clouded by a certain dark-haired leading man and what her next course of
action should be. Now, on top of acting and having her picture taken and
going to a movie premiere, she also had to play loving girlfriend to a man
she was reluctantly growing attracted to.
The best thing to do was play cool and avoid any intimate situations at
all costs. Simple as that.
Serena realized just how not simple it was when she arrived at work.
"Mina!" A cheery voice called and Serena whirled around to be caught in
a tight hug with a slightly short, brunette.
She patted the stranger's back awkwardly, her mind searching for who
this woman might be. She came up empty.
"Mina, you've met my wife before," the dry voice of Nigel saved her and
she smiled largely at the vivacious woman.
"Of course, Elaine. It's wonderful seeing you." Serena squeezed
Elaine's hands tightly and immediately liked the slightly older woman with
the warm, brown eyes. She didn't mind the changes the woman had made in the
original script she had loved so much. To each his own, Serena mused as she
sat next to the eager, excited lady.
"I had the most wonderful idea yesterday!" Elaine gushed, her chocolate
brown eyes sparkling with giddiness that Serena found both contagious and
amusing.
"Yes, darling. It was simply wonderful." Nigel sighed, rubbing his
forehead.
Elaine pointedly ignored her husband and continued. "Anyway, it is the
most romantic addition to our love story. I was watching the old commercial
we made for the movie and I decided it just didn't work." she paused. "So I
have decided to make a much more romantic commercial, one that depicts the
true passion between Chloe and Jared. One that will make women everywhere
want to see this movie over and over again. Elaine clapped enthusiastically
while she practically bounced off the seat, looking very much like a child.
"Why—it'll be bigger than TITANIC!"
Serena took one look at Elaine's dreamy face found herself thinking
Elaine acted out her silly fantasies about love through Chloe and Jared. But
if Elaine could keep her teenage-like, idealistic views this far into her
adult life, then more power to her. Besides, Nigel didn't exactly seem like
the overly-romantic, knight-in-shining armor type.
As if by cue, Nigel rolled his eyes and muttered, "If I remember
correctly, TITANIC had a sad ending, much like the original ending of
Missing You."
Elaine shook away her husband's tirade as if the poor woman was used to
these kinds of outbursts daily.
"So we shoot this and then tomorrow we begin to film the other ending
to the movie?" Serena shrugged. "It's a commercial, it'll take like what—ten
minutes?"
Nigel began to laugh, tipping his head back and letting out the first
genuine chuckle Serena had heard from him yet. "Ten minutes!" He gasped.
"You obviously don't know Elaine." With that he walked away, still chortling
and leaving Serena with a very unsettling feeling.
Elaine clapped her hands loudly for everybody's attention. "Okay,
people. We only have so much daylight left. Let's get moving!"
Serena groaned inwardly as she was directed to a trailer. Why did she
have a bad feeling about this? Why did everything manage to go wrong for
her? And why, oh why, had she agreed to this ridiculous plan to begin with?
****
The park they arrived at was indeed a beautiful place, with trees
placed strategically and the manicured grass. Bushes filled with fragrant
flowers trimmed the entire outline. The natural lushness of the park, not
hindered by the hordes of people, seemed much like a fantasy in a different
world instead of a square in New York .
They began shooting immediately. As soon as Serena had put on one of
her character's sundresses and her hair had been styled accordingly, she had
been shipped off into the "capable" hands of Elaine along with Darien.
There, she had told them her plan for the commercial.
"Okay I talked this out with the camera men and they say it'll be a
splendid shot. All you two have to do is lie down on the grass."
Serena's head snapped toward the casual women. Lie down on the grass?
What was this woman on?
Darien apparently had the same thoughts as he raised a dark brow
sardonically.
Elaine saw their expressions and coaxed them. "Oh, it'll be fun. Come
on." She led them to a spot that was on perfectly green grass with a
background of colorful flowers. "Now Serena lie down on your back."
"Excuse me?" Serena blurted out, her blonde eyebrows raised to
practically their hairline.
"Like this," Elaine let herself fall to the lush grass and laid down,
looking up at Serena and Darien earnestly. "Now come," she patted the spot
next to her. Serena slowly did so and felt Elaine get up. She saw both their
faces peering down at her and felt utterly ridiculous. Elaine's looking
delighted and Darien's perfectly amused. "Now, Darien." She took his arm so
he was facing her. "You will be right here."
They walked away from Serena and with a slightly painful roll of her
eyes she saw Darien's black shoes a few feet away from her head. This was a
romantic commercial? Not that she was complaining—the further he kept his
distance, the better. Of course, they would have to be close tonight at
dinner. She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought. Serena felt a foreign
fluttering in her stomach, and after convincing herself it was due to
nervousness of playing Mina with so intimate a man, she settled down. She
opened her eyes and nearly fainted. Darien's face was directly above hers,
his dark eyes locked with her lighter ones.
He was propped up on his elbows, which were crossed way down by his
stomach. The awkward position looked slightly uncomfortable, but Darien's
face remained cool, not one emotion flickering across.
"Okay!" Elaine called, her voice high and excited. "Okay, Darien take
the rose, yes!"
Serena's eyes closed reflexively as the soft petals of a red flower
were traced across the features of her face. Darien's strong fingers lightly
held the fragile flower, moving it along the counters of her eyelashes,
cheekbones, nose, and finally lips.
She shivered, forgetting everything but her—and of course Darien.
"Turn toward me, Serena!" Elaine commanded.
Slightly dazed, she followed the order too late.
"Okay, once again from the top. This time, Serena smile softly and
slowly turn toward the camera. The next take was better, and the next even
more so—and so on and so on. Finally, Elaine was satisfied enough that they
could use film. It took three tries, but finally, viewing the entire scene
from a small screen, Elaine was happy.
"That's a wrap, folks!" Nigel said loudly, joy evident in his tone.
Serena happily got up from her position and stretched. She turned
slightly to see Darien do so also. She quickly walked back to her trailer,
hoping that Darien would either forget about their date or be too tired to
go through with it. No such luck.
She opened the door after changing, pulling her light jacket tighter
across her chest against the cool breeze to find Darien waiting outside for
her. With his back turned to her, Serena had a moment to stare at him. His
appearance was perfect as usual in presses slacks and a teal dress shirt.
She shyly walked up to him. "Hi," she said softly and smiled as he
spun around.
"Ready?" he asked tautly.
Serena frowned at his demeanor and nodded. He led her to his luxury
car. She slid into the passenger seat, nervously tugging on her flowered
ankle-length skirt. She shrugged off her jacket in the warm car and lay it
folded on her lap. When Darien started the car, she anxiously fidgeted with
her ice blue tank top, picking invisible lint off sporadically. This was
going to be a long night.
****
Darien watched her squirm with increasing annoyance. Why was she acting
like he was the big, bad wolf? Why was she so incredibly jumpy—did she know
about tonight? Why wasn't he angrier at her? And why did she have to look so
damn sexy and sweet all at the same time with her hair all loose around her
shoulders?
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind while clutching the steering
wheel tighter. He turned into a free parking space of the Chinese
restaurant, and as he shifted to undo the buckle on his seatbelt, he
collided with a blonde, surprisingly hard, head.
"Oh," he heard her gasp in surprise and pain.
They both lifted their heads up simultaneously, causing their faces to
be centimeters apart. He sucked his breath in at her proximity and
immediately the light smell of citrus and wildflowers assaulted his senses.
"You changed your shampoo," he said quietly, making no effort to move
in the slightest.
"Oh," was her soft reply, she stared right back into his eyes, as if
frozen.
"It's nice," Darien didn't blink, afraid to miss one moment of her
liquid eyes wide with something indefinable. He leaned in slightly, fully
prepared to kiss her when he heard her clear her throat and say:
"I'm starved. Should we go in?" Like a shot, she was out of the car
and Darien had a second to berate himself of what he had almost done. He had
been perfectly willing to kiss her a few seconds ago--hell, he was still
willing! But those impulses were completely out of the question considering
the conversation topic he had planned for tonight.
He watched as Mina smoothed her skirt before sitting, thanking the
waiter for the menu and opening it, biting her lip as she looked among the
choices. He followed the small, straight teeth sinking into her red lower
lip with fascination before shaking his head.
Moments later, they both ordered and were once again left alone in the
quiet atmosphere of the authentic restaurant. He saw Mina glance down at her
napkin and then anxiously pull and tug at it. Her gaze lifted to look around
the room, the other diners, the waiters, anywhere but at him.
"I don't see any reason in pretending anymore—I suppose we both know."
He began, his voice cold.
Mina's eyes flew to his, panic written all over her lovely face. Well,
that settled it—she knew.
"W-What?" she asked shakily.
"I think it's gone on long enough. You've done what you've been asked
to do…there's no use going on."
Absolute terror struck her eyes and she continued to stutter. "W-What
do you mean?"
He sighed, exasperated. Why on earth was she playing dumb? Had Nigel
put her up to this—keep him interested with a game? "Mina, you know exactly
what I'm talking about."
"Oh," she responded tentatively. "It's about…"
He stared at her for a moment, wondering what exactly had caused her
sudden amnesia. There was nothing left to do. "Our relationship, Mina—or
lack thereof."
"Okay, um—before we go any further let me just get this one thing
straight: you're breaking up with me, right?" She didn't seem the least bit
angry, confusion was the only emotion written on her features.
Well, breaking up wasn't exactly the right word for the delicate—not to
mention unusual—situation they had been put in, but if that was the only way
she could face it, so be it.
"Yes," he said slowly.
"And how long have you been planning to break up with Mi—me," she
fumbled and caught herself quickly. Darien frowned, who talked about
themselves in the third person? But back to the subject at hand…
"I've been thinking about it for some time—we both know it was going
nowhere—and since the project is almost over, I figured now was the time."
Mina's face suddenly grew very relieved and Darien grew as confused as
she had been earlier. What was with this woman's mood swings. She now looked
glad about how he had answered rather than being angry that he had felt this
way so long and had done nothing about it. Her expression changed yet again,
her brow furrowing in puzzlement and Darien sighed inwardly. He felt another
round of twenty questions coming on since Mina was obviously playing dumb
tonight for some reason unknown to him.
"What project?"
"The movie," Darien said incredulously, struck by how ignorant she
seemed to be.
"But what does our relationship have to do with the movie?" She looked
down at the cold food in front of her that they both hadn't even realized
arrived and pushed it forward slightly, indicating her lack of appetite.
But Darien was too busy choking down the water he had taken a sip of
before his dinner date had finished speaking, trying not to spit the
mouthful out. Of all the obtuse questions she had asked on this "date", this
had to take the cake. He couldn't take any more, what the hell did she think
was going on here? He wasn't going to be playing with, especially not by
Mina.
"Mina," he started, his voice sounding taut and stretched to even his
own ears. "I don't know what you think you're pulling, but don't you think
for one moment I'm going to fall for it. The famous "Kinsley charm" isn't
going to work this time. " He sneered, enjoying the struck look on her face.
And it was Serena's turn to spit out her water as he finished his speech.
"We both know that this entire "relationship" isn't real and I don't care
how much you or Nigel want it to continue until after we premiere the movie.
It ends now. The great publicity and box office charts can go to hell, I
want out. Make up a story; I don't really care who dumped who as long as
it's officially, completely, absolutely over."