Long time no see! Sorry about that guys. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Happy Valentines's Day

Chapter 17: My Actress

"I love you!" Ally screamed jumping happily into my arms. I quickly grabbed onto her as she crashed into me. I held her tight and long. Her dark hair tickled my chin and I smiled.

"I'm so glad you like the gift! I drove all across town to find it." I pulled away, keeping my arms tied around her waist.

"And the bracelet is just my size!" She squealed staring at her bare wrist making me chuckle.

"I have one more surprise for you." I leaned down to her level before leading her over to the couch.

"You're making me nervous. What is it?"

A small nervous laugh broke from her lips

I took a deep breath before thinking about what I was going to say. Then it hit me. A job! Mention a new job opportunity!

"I received an offer to transfer to the paper company in Ohio. It would be twice what I'm making now, plus more benefits."

Her eyes widened in shock and her lips made a smile, but I could tell she was not happy. Something was off.

"Babe what's wrong?" I ask confused.

"I...also got a special offer on my job." She smiled uneasily.

"Really? You just started there."

"I know. I was surprised too! They told me they were looking for a young person to represent the company. They want me to be their International representative! I'll get to travel the world. I'll be traveling to London, Spain, Japan- you name it! It will be like being paid to travel. This is my dream job. Everything I could ever ask for."

She told me everything with pure excitement. This was what she's wanted since we were in high school.

"That's amazing. I'm so proud of you." I told her honestly, lightly gracing her cheek with my thumb.

"Thank you so much!" She gave a small smile.

"But, where does that leave us?" I asked sadly holding onto her hand.

"I don't know." She held my hand tighter.

"I'm not ready for distance Ally. It hasn't even been a year since our wedding."

"I know, I don't want to consider long distance either."

"Okay. So…"

"Would you consider traveling with me? If that's what I really wanted?" She asked delicately.

I was a little shocked and sort of put off. Did she really ask that? I was a little pissed off, but I played it off like a good husband would.

"If that's what you really want, I would consider it...but" I struggled to get the sentence out.

"Great! Then that's what I want!" She jumped up from the couch happily.

"I can't believe you!" I darted up angry at her. Almost actually angry.

"You know that I love my job. I've been working to get this promotion for the past five years. How could you be so selfish!"

"You just said-" She pointed her finger in my face charging angrily at him.

"That I'd consider it! Not abandon my job and follow you around the country for the rest of my life!"

We were neck and neck as we argued. Neither one of us giving in. When we were finally tired of screaming, we settled down. I sat on the far left cushion of the couch. She sat beside me in the middle. After a deep breath, she spoke softly.

"This is my dream job." She lifted her gaze.

"And this is mine." I look up to her eyes.

We held the look of infliction and confusion for about a minute.

"Thank you." Ally and I said in unison ending our scene. Our classmates clapped and cheered as we went to our seats. I grinned cheek to cheek all the way to my chair. Many people congratulate us. I couldn't have been happier with the turnout of the scene. When the applause died down, Ms. Bloom walked from her desk to the front of the classroom to introduce the next group.

"Thank you Austin and Ally for being the first volunteers for the duo scene assignment. Who is next?"

As soon as Advanced Theater class was over, Ally bolted for the door. I followed her quickly, trying to catch up with her. It had been nearly two weeks since we've had a decent conversation. And whenever we did talk, it was about rehearsing for this scene.

"Ally!" I called out to her seeing her brown hair flowing left to right across her back.

She turned around to face me.

"Yeah?"

"Great job, today. I think the scene went great." I smiled happily.

She was wearing a very thin layer of enthusiasm. Underneath was pure indifference. If you would have watched the beginning of our scene, you would have thought she was the happiest girl in the world. It wasn't until this moment I had realized how good of an actress Ally really was.

"Umm yeah I did too." She gave a tight smile.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong" She brushed her hair back with her hand as she inhaled deeply. Her eyes drifted from mine onto the floor. Her movements, breath, eyes; all seemed heavy. The hard demeanor was a clear reflection of the hurt she was bearing.

She swallowed deeply shutting her eyes for a moment. I took a step closer grabbing her hand.

"Stop." She said weakly.

"Stop what?" Asked her lightly.

"Studying me." She said with slightly more irritation. She pulled her hand away. I watched as shook her head at the ground trying to recollect herself, before looking me in the eye.

I moved in closer to her. When she lifted her gaze to find me an inch from her face, she quickly took a step back.

"What do you want Austin?"

She spoke harshly.

"To talk to you." I responded a bit irritated by her tone.

"Okay fine. What is it?"

I was extremely bothered by her attitude and honestly wanted to drop the whole thing. But because of what her mom told me about staying close, I felt I needed to at least try. Maybe she was tired of me, but that didn't mean I had to stop trying.

"How are you."

She sighed and broke into a quick laugh.

"I'm great Austin." She humored me with her response before following up with "Are we good?"

I nodded and let her go.

Thanks for reading.