The ribbing was good-natured. The crew applauded as Raina and Nikki made their descent to the beach.
From Brill: "Here come Nikki and Hot Lips!"
From Del: "My newest video vixen."
Roger: "Hey, when's your next class on mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"
Don was more congratulatory than joking. "You did great. I'm glad it went well. Did he behave as I promised?"
Raina didn't answer him. Over Don's shoulder, she could see Voz standing a few feet away. His eyes burned into her, but he only waved and smiled, making no attempt to end his conversation with Lisa.
"Chow time!" rang out. Everyone gathered around the grill and buffet table loaded with the deli dishes chosen by Nikki and Raina. The majority of the group settled down on the blankets spread over the sand. Of course, the video began as the main topic of conversation. The few cameramen and lighting staff that had to stay for filming wove a steamy story, with the simple minute-long section of the video turning into one of those bodice-ripping romance novels. It was quite funny. Raina laughed along with the others; with this far-fetched story masking the truth, maybe very few of them would realize what had actually happened.
What had happened?
As she ate, Raina tried to decide that for herself. She surreptitiously glanced at Voz. He, too, was enjoying the story about their scene. But he also took care not to join in other than that, like Raina. Once when she was looking his way, he winked at her.
Curiously, it seemed now that his whole attitude had changed. She had been at the party for almost an hour by this time. They hadn't spoken once. They didn't come near each other at the grill, didn't so much as bump each other nor say "please pass the salt" at the buffet. He even seemed to take care that they were not even seated on the same blanket!
She didn't know why, but this bothered her. The sudden coolness and inattention were so odd. After he had pursued her so relentlessly. After that kiss.
Had he been acting?
Raina had been caught up in her thoughts, so she hadn't realized that most people were done eating, cleaning up, and there seemed to be a ruckus developing. Before she could figure out what she was missing, Nikki suddenly grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet, and told her she best run.
"What for?"
"Spaced it out, huh? The guys were saying they thought you and Voz were too hot on film, so they're going to cool you both off in the lake!"
Sam was walking toward her, yelling, "Get Voz! I got Raina. She's easy."
Once again, she fooled the others. She ran around the beach to avoid capture; it was almost like being back in school, those weekends at the beach with friends. She noticed Voz doing the same, going in the opposite direction. Luck was with her, she did well ducking and dodging about ten crew members. After five minutes of intense horseplay, they were winded. Raina made a bad dodge and ended up backed up against a rock pile. Just a few false left-right moves and Sam had her, threw her over his shoulder like a small sack of potatoes. It was inevitable, so Raina only played at protesting by hitting him lightly on the back.
Voz had not yet been caught he saw when she was about halfway to the water. Realizing she was captured, it seemed that he gave up, very halfheartedly defending himself against the rebel-rousers. Still full of spirit, the remaining band members and three of the crew lifted Voz football-hero style. In a minute, they were on the pier, seconds away from being tossed in the lake.
Brill made a little production of making a speech. "We've worked hard on this video and we want it to be the best, right?" Macho affirmation followed. "We don't need you two messing around playing Harlequin romance, pushing us over budget. Right?" Agreement from the mass "Ok! Since you two can't control yourselves, we've got to do something to help tomorrow's shoot. You're too hot. We all think ---"
And they all ended with him: "You need to cool off!"
Those with Raina or Voz hoisted above their heads walked out to the edge of the pier. The count began, "One . . . two . . . three!"
From Voz came, "Shit!", from Raina, a short squeal, before the huge splash.
Maria, Lisa, and Nikki had come down to the pier with towels. They were in on it, but were also ready to help Voz and Raina dry off. The trio was laughing, that is, until Don, Brill, and Roger scooped them up, Sam snatched the towels, and they were also pitched into the lake.
The five came up to shore, drenched and laughing. Nikki and Lisa were good-naturedly having a "fit". Maria nonchalantly took her towel from Don. But she waited until he was off guard and wrangled him into the water, too. They began a water fight while the rest of the wet bunch headed to the newly lit campfire to dry off.
Being soaked through after dark made the evening quite cool. Sitting around the campfire was cozy, even in the open. Tired of talking about work, the group's conversation touched on various topics: the environment, new movies, the economy. It was easy conversation. But soon the lack of sleep and nervous tension of the day took its toll on Raina. Nikki was involved in some rain forest talk with Roger and Lisa. No one else seemed ready to pack it in. Raina couldn't bear the conversation any longer. She left the warm circle of heat, grabbed a jacket to ease the chill, and headed out to the edge of the water to walk around the lake.
The storm's passing had taken all the clouds with it. The indigo sky was alight with a partial moon, zillions of stars. She passed the beach's end and followed a bike trail running the circumference of the lake. On a small ridge cluttered with oak trees stood a lonely picnic table. Raina sat on one of the benches to ponder the day while taking in the view that reached all the way to the other side of the lake. This was a good place to sort out her feelings. Away from the craziness she could surely clear her head enough to come to some decision.
Try to be logical, she thought. Make one of those pro and con lists. His career is demanding; he’ll be self-absorbed. Con. He's always on the road. Bad. He's constantly surrounded by beautiful women. Bad. He’s got way too much time on his hands between his actual jobs, the gigs. Con. Wait a minute, Raina. Be fair. There's some good, like he's absolutely gorgeous: that's good. Girl, there are some pros; where are you hiding them?
She argued back to herself; gorgeous could be a bad thing, too. Look at all those groupies, the temptation. Ok, so looks are good and bad. Keep going. More pros here.
Hhhhmmmm. Caring. Voz has to be caring to have friends like Don who are so concerned about him. Good musician, that's a pro since you love music so much, right? Yeah, she'd always liked Jury. He had written or co-written quite a few of the songs. Like that one from a while back, Walking In The Rain With You. It was pretty, romantic. His. Ok, he’s creative, another definite good. Intelligent, good.
Don't fool yourself! What did you know for sure? Absolute, hard, cold fact?
He has the most expressive eyes she had ever seen. And his mouth, even though it could give orders like a commandant without hesitation when it came to the music, could also be sweet and tender. Voz was a physical turn on from his long dark hair to his Reebok-covered toes.
Her mind clicked back to the embrace they shared before the cameras, his strong arms about her creating a secure circle of protection and caring. It was playing over and over in her head when she realized she was no longer alone. Raina could hear the rocks and twigs crunching under a single pair of feet coming closer. She turned to the sound, knowing - hoping and dreading - that it would be Voz.
He was the one to come up the path, with a denim jacket to protect him from the cold air. But he appeared surprised to find her sitting there; he had been walking along looking at the ground. Suddenly he paused, saw Raina, seemed undecided. Then he smiled openly and continued on to stop only a few feet from the picnic table on which she sat.
She struggled with the decision of whether to run away or stay and be ready to face him alone after that video shoot. He stood there, irresistible, hands in pockets, gazing at the stars. As he became aware that Raina was staring, he shuffled uncomfortably.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" She still could not react to his words. Though she wasn't aware of the affect she was having on him, she was aware of the deja' vu feeling of the moment. Where did that come from?
Raina answered him with a small smile. She wasn't sure if she could keep up with a conversation of small talk. It was hard enough to fight the physical attraction right now. She wanted to learn more about this man - his wants, needs, hopes, dreams, and, God help her, his desires. Maybe, just maybe, he could be worth the effort of a relationship. Or was she beginning to lose her mind?
"So what's going on back there? Are they all still getting a laugh off of the shoot?" Finally, she was able to get something to come out of her mouth.
"Nah, right now they're arguing about how to save the planet. I left when it became a verbal fight. I say there is no best way: every bit helps." He tried not to grin at this next thought, but it broke through anyway. "It was pretty funny though, calling us a Harlequin romance."
Raina looked at Voz trying to hold back like a schoolboy, and it hit her: neither of them really qualified as romance-novel material, not in that situation, with a crew watching their every move.
She joined his barely suppressed laughter. "They went on like we were some Romeo and Juliet," she joked.
He eagerly caught her mood. "More like Tracy and Hepburn," he corrected as he joined her on the picnic table.
"How abut Taylor and Burton?"
The laughter had broken the ice, was companionable. They were unknowingly close to each other; subconsciously, a flame sparked.
"They really ran with this one, with the lake and all, but I think the guys are anxious to see the dailies. Del only told them it was good footage. But for Del, that kind of understatement obviously means he's ecstatic."
It was Raina's turn to be uncomfortable. She was not used to public displays of overt affection, let alone having it filmed. Add to that whatever had happened between the two of them, then her confusion over the conflict of what her body wanted from Voz against what her head tried to warn her heart.
The only response she could come up with was one of nonchalance. "Well, I hope it will work out somehow. After all, being a newcomer and having zero experience, I could've ended up costing you all time and money. Still could, if someone screws up the film development and I screw up the only two takes we have left." She felt him watching her. The eyes were to be avoided. They could be dangerous.
Voz couldn't stand the slight distance between them, nor the cool conversation. To hell with her reservations over the video - they had been good together. He had to find out if she had been acting then, and there was only one way to be sure.
"Raina."
It was whispered. In that one word, her name, was a command that could not be denied while at the same time it was intriguing and questioning. How he could pack so much meaning into just saying her name was amazing. She did not even try to resist now, the last couple minutes had already been too agonizing. She turned to look at him.
"You sure didn't kiss me like you had zero experience." Although that hadn't been what she was referring to, he used it for his lead in. He searched her face for answers as he leaned closer, ever so slowly.
His intent was immediately apparent. Her mind had no time to interfere. Body language ruled the now silent conversation. Raina found that she wanted him, his mouth on hers.
This time there was no hesitation. They found each other easily, barely having time to feel each other's hot breath before lips locked.
And it was different from before. Before the cameras, she had sensed a change. Now, without an audience, it was just two people together, the beginning of a conversation of intimacy. She shifted on the table to be closer to him, to feel the body that women all over the country lusted after. As his hands roamed over her back she knew hope was lost for her common sense. As one door of her mind closed, another opened - her vulnerability.
She didn't know it yet, but Voz had learned a lesson from his talk with Don. He had to admit it, he had made sense. Voz had been using Brill’s methods, which for him was the wrong approach. Women hung on every syllable he sang, would practically fall into his bed if he wanted, and he was accustomed to their attention, whether he wanted it or not. Then Rachel had passed through his life long enough to drive a stake deep into his heart. To be brutally honest with himself, he thought he had come close to loosing the "it" that made him who he was to the opposite sex.
Raina was a complex person, not just a woman. She seemed worth working for. He decided to change his whole style, go back to being himself. And right now, he was failing miserably; he was supposed to be making friends with her, not making a lover. With extreme effort, he mentally changed gears. He pulled away from her, changing the kiss from one on the brink of passion, to one of chaste, like the kiss between teenagers on their first date.
To say Raina was shocked or disappointed at his sudden change in direction would be as close as mere words could come to describing how she felt. She studied him through lowered lashes, trying to figure out why he chose to interrupt what she now wanted desperately. Despite all the "cons" on her list earlier, she had unconsciously made the decision that she was ready for Voz, good reasons or not.
Neither could speak as each tried to slow their breathing, to quiet the wild call of nature. He tried to explain. "I'm sorry, Raina," he told her softly. "I don't mean to crawl all over you. Really. That’s not like me. You are . . . I mean I want you to be. . . more than a fling to me. I guess I'm getting old.” He grinned. “Maybe 'mature' is the word. I want a real relationship. After a couple years of touring, the groupies, even after Rachel, I still want that. You're special, different compared to the other women I’ve met. I didn't know how to handle it at first." He paused, swallowing. "Even after I've been so pushy, even after I have been acting like a macho dork around you lately, I want to know something."
Voz forced himself to look at her. She seemed confused, maybe shocked, but at least she was listening. "Raina, would you be willing to start seeing me? We could, you know, start at the beginning, get to know each other. I . . . I was hoping that you might be interested ..... that you might want to.... Raina, I want to ask you out. On a date, a real date, you and me. We’ll go out to a movie, to dinner, do all those simple, regular things. We can take it slow, do this the old-fashioned way. I heard from Don that you don't like long-distance relationships, but can we try? We'd be good for each other." He took hold of both her hands and pleaded with his eyes. "I like you so much, Raina. Please say yes. Let's just try it."
At that moment, her body was screaming "no" at the thought of starting all the way back at the beginning. The look on his face told her that he was sincere. It would be the best possible solution, one she couldn't resist. But . . .
"Voz, can you talk about it? Rachel, I mean. I think I ---"
"Yes, but not now. I don't want to start this by talking about horrible times in my life. Does that mean yes? Will you . . .? "
Raina drew a deep breath. "I don't know if this is a very good idea for either of us, Voz. But it's nice to be with someone who will be interested in me as a person for a change. I'm willing to try, Voz. Let's see if you're right. And Don, too, for that matter."
He squeezed her hand and threw an arm around her happily.
"It'll be worth it Raina. I can make you happy, and you already made me happy."
He was smiling like she’d never seen before, his eyes filled with enthusiasm and the desire to please. He kissed her again tenderly, quickly, before leading her by the hand back to her others.
Wait until the guys found out! And what it would do for the remaining shooting schedule! This video would be hot!
Though Voz had made her confident of the feelings that she allowed to surface, she felt a bit awkward about facing the group. And facing Nikki's boasting that her prediction came true.
As they closed in on the beach scene, arms linking waists and Voz's eyes shining adoringly down on her, she found that she no longer cared what anyone else thought. Least of all, that small, nagging voice in the back of her mind that wouldn't shut up. Raina shook her head to clear it, smiled back to Voz, and vowed to put as much effort into this new relationship as Voz would. Maybe the real world allowed a few happy endings??