The Photoshoot
Part One
"They want you for four days." Max passed the file across to Val.
"Santa Anna ski resort. Beautiful location, the top hotels-"
"How many hours for the photo-shoot?" Luke said flatly. Max gave the
bodyguard a look of dislike. He was propping up a windowsill, ankles
crossed, arms folded across his chest as usual.
"Not that many. Maybe two days to get the pictures. A photo call for
the general press. Maybe an interview or two if we get an offer we
like."
Luke scowled at the back of the agent's head. Max was scenting money
in this, and a lot of it. It was the only motive he ever had for
coaxing Val into anything.
"Val, the last time you did a photoshoot," he said, ignoring Max, "It
was two ten hour days on top of the travelling and you were dead on
your feet by the end of it. You've got the two week run in London
starting Saturday. That's going to be hard enough in itself. And I'm
still not happy about eight concerts being scheduled inside fourteen
days."
"We've gone over and over that," Max complained to Val, "Does he HAVE
to be in on all of this? Can't he sit in the corridor or something?"
Val had been sitting with his arms around his knees, not looking that
happy, but that request raised a brief flicker of amusement.
"YOU make him wait outside."
Luke gave Max a pleasant smile. Max valiantly drew Val's attention
back to the file.
"This is only the first offer, we'd be out of our minds not to take
it. One little ad campaign, a little more publicity, your face seen a
little more often, that's what draws the big contracts in."
"What am I advertising?" Val read the logo and shrugged at Luke.
"Bizazz? What's that when it's at home?"
"A new mixer drink- like bucks fizz, that kind of thing-"
"He means one of these alcopop things." Luke said bluntly. "Aimed at
getting teenagers to drink without noticing the alcohol content."
"Aimed at the young professional market." Max said, ignoring Luke. "I
can contract you for a set number of hours-"
"No more than six a day." Luke interrupted.
Max glowered. "Six. What an excellent suggestion. Which would give
you plenty of time to enjoy yourself-"
"And no more than one engagement a day." Luke went on. Val stifled a
laugh at Max's face. The agent caught Val's eye and forced a smile.
"Of course. I'd hate to see you run yourself into the ground before
you start on Wembley. That really will be the big event of the year."
Bastard, Luke thought silently at Max's head. Max picked the file up.
"I'll fix the contract then."
"When do you want us back to sign it?" Luke said softly. Max looked
round from the door.
"No need, I can sign on Val's behalf."
"Oh I think Val should sign himself. When he's read the final
version." Luke detached himself from the windowsill. There was
something about the long, lean man that made Max Ryman extremely
nervous.
"Yes. Fine. I'll bring it in tomorrow. Anything special you want in
there, Val?"
"Mmn." Val looked up over his knees which he was still hugging.
"Plenty of bananas for the gorilla."
Max left, bemused. Luke picked up the information Max had left on the
resort, glanced at it and then roughly tousled Val's hair.
"You've played bigger venues than Wembley."
"Its THE British venue."
"You'll be fine." Luke repeated firmly. The scenery in the brochure
was definitely attractive. Luke flicked through the pages of white
snow and log fires, surrounded by young people in ski suits, drinking
anything other than alcopops. Val was wound up tighter than a spring
at the moment with the Wembley run ahead of him. A few days somewhere
different, and somewhere likely to catch his interest would be no bad
thing.
"If I only have to work 6 hours a day, what ELSE is there to do? It
doesn't seem like such a great idea to me."
"What else is there to do? Live of course. Ski, shop, relax,
whatever. You could use a few days to relax before the long haul.
Don't you agree?"
"No."
"Didn't think so. But it'll be good for you. And by the time we
leave, I'm sure you'll be feeling much better."
"Whatever." Val said, untangling himself and slowly getting up out of
the chair. "Why do you torture Max so?"
"Torture?" Luke said, a slightly bemused expression upon his normally
stern face.
"He practically ran out of here with his tail between his legs."
"I don't know what you're talking about, kitten. I never said one
threatening word to him."
"You are such a -"
"Gorilla, I know. Oh, and thanks for the bananas, I'll need something
to fortify myself for some relaxation."
The two headed out of the office in an easy silence. Luke was looking
forward to the small "vacation" himself. It had been a long couple of
busy months, filled with concert upon concert, endless piles of
security paperwork, interrupted by the wondrous and tortuous moods
of young Val, riding the highs and lows of a concert tour in full
swing.
He was braced for Val's most inventive emotional tortures when Max
presented them with the airline tickets. Airports were nightmares
anyway: Val never went anywhere without Max scheduling as many
photographers as possible to be present and Val usually rose to the
occasion with the full prima donna performance, turning a hard couple
of hours into a complete nightmare. The kid that hung at his elbow,
buried behind large, mirrored sunglasses and a turned up collar, was
not Val. Val stalked through crowds with the unhurried arrogance of a
lion that knows damn well it's beautiful and the centre of attention.
This time the photographers shouted in vain to get Val to turn as
Luke moved him through the barriers at Heathrow, his head down, his
face mostly hidden until Luke unwillingly stopped him at the gate.
"Kitten you need to give them one good shot- you know what stories
they dream up if you seem different to usual."
Val didn't argue but the look Luke got was distinctly unhappy. He
hesitated, then pulled the shades off and turned back towards the
photographers, turning on the famous smile and responding to a few of
their questions, but to Luke he looked tired and washed out. He moved
protectively behind Val as they boarded the plane. With strictly
limited working hours ahead of them, Val would have some time to
remember he was in fact only twenty.
Flights were usually tortuous for Luke, as Val usually couldn't sit
still for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. Today was different,
though not any less tortuous. Val wasn't interested in getting up and
moving around, but he was in a totally defiant and bratty mood.
Nothing was pleasing him at
all.
"Luuuuuke, I'm thirsty. Will you get me a drink, uh...Bloody Mary
would be nice."
"Coke it is." Luke said, signaling the flight attendant.
"I want a DRINK, not coke." Val said, his voice rising.
They were only thirty minutes into a four hour flight, and Val's
attitude was already rearing it's ugly head. Luke had to stop it
before it got out of hand. He nailed Val with his cold as steel eyes
and said warningly
"Don't do this kitten. I'd hate for the rest of the passengers to see
you get your bare butt warmed, wouldn't you?"
Val took one look at Luke's face and decided he wouldn't press for
that drink. "Fine. Coke. And some chips. No, make that a steak, with
a nicely done baked potato. And a chocolate cake for desert."
Just then the flight attendant made her appearance. She knew Val, and
thought herself his number one fan. Her voice shook a little when she
spoke. "W..what can I do for you?"
Luke noticed all the signs of a rabid fan. Not what he needed, as Val
sometimes used these situations to his advantage. "A coke for him,
and I'll have some mineral water, thank you."
The flight attendant barely acknowledged Luke, she was too busy
staring at Val. "Anything else? Maybe you'd like to see the cockpit,
I'm sure the captain would be glad to meet you and show you around."
"Thanks, bu-" Luke started
"YES! I'd LOVE to see the cockpit." Val began to unbuckle his belt.
"Excuse me, please." Val said to Luke as if speaking to a minion.
Luke's hand snaked out and caught his wrist in a grasp that reminded
Val that Luke was a lot bigger and a lot stronger than he was.
"Now you know how exhausting stardom is. You sit there and relax and
this nice young lady will get you that coke and everything will be
fine. Won't it?"
Val hesitated, then did one of his Vivien Leigh flops back into his
seat with sufficient tragedy to radiate at least twelve rows back
from his seat. Luke saw the attendant's eyes go wide with sympathy
and swore quietly. Val was an accomplished performer. Within two
minutes the entire cabin would be alive with pity for the poor little
rich boy suffering in brave silence. Luke resisted the urge to clout
the suffering performer sharply upside his designer haircut and gave
the girl a smile.
"Executive stress. The coke would help."
The girl left. Luke unclipped his belt, leaned across to Val and
spoke gently in his ear.
"If you keep this act going another minute more, I'm going to start
enlarging on my role and I'll make sure that everyone knows you've
got a reason to feel sorry for yourself. Got it?"
He got Val's hot under the eyelashes look. Not surrender. Far from
it. Val might know better than to push that particular trick, but
this flight and this paddy was far from over.
Val promptly turned away from Luke and stared unseeingly out the
window. This flight was going to be a long one, and Val was in no
mood for the overbearing gorilla.
Luke saw the tenseness of Val's shoulders through his thin shirt.
There was no way this kid was going to sleep, one of the only ways
that Luke was even able to think about relaxing. The flight wouldn't
end soon enough as far as Luke was concerned.
Val was thinking the same thing.
The flight attendant returned with the requested drinks. "Here you go
sir. And here's the coke for...Val."
Luke took the drink from her hand, as Val wasn't even acknowledging
her presence. "Here you go Val."
Val pointedly ignored Luke.
"Thank you." Luke said, dismissing the flight attendant.
Luke put the drink down on his tray and ignored Val. He polished off
his mineral water in short order, flights always left him dehydrated.
Within about 30 minutes, during which Val continued to stare out the
window, Luke had to go to the restroom. He got up and headed to the
back of the plane.
As soon as Luke left, Val unbuckled his seatbelt and headed towards
the front, intent on searching out the flight attendant.
Luke took his time walking back, enjoying the chance to stretch his
legs. The sound of one of Val's albums on the intercom made him
hesitate. Most people were looking interested, some openly
enthusiastic, one or two annoyed. The intercom clicked a man's voice
took over.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a surprise guest aboard this flight.
Many of you will be delighted to hear that we have aboard none other
than Val Quentin!"
Even in business class, that raised some obvious interest. Luke swore
as he heard a far more vocal response from further down the plane in
tourist class. Val had just trebled the risk of complete strangers
wandering up here in search of him. Quite apart from the risks, the
flight attendants would be put through hell now trying to keep
passengers from sneaking into the business class cabin. He headed
back to his seat, intent on pointing out to Val that some weapons
were not to be used in their personal fights. Val was nowhere in
sight. Luke gripped the back of the seat and felt his heart start to
thud, even though rationally he knew Val was most likely to have
taken up the attendant's offer to look around the cockpit. Val was
still out of his sight, in the middle of a very public environment,
surrounded by God knows who and as always, completely oblivious to
any risks.
He ran Val to earth in the flight cabin where he was charming the
socks off the two pilots. From the sweet smile Val gave him, Val was
well aware Luke was in a position to do absolutely nothing with him
or about him. He waved a hand between the two pilots, addressing
himself mostly to them.
"Ah there he is! Gentlemen, this is my bodyguard, Luke McNeil? Luke I
shan't be needing you up here, why don't you get yourself a drink or
something? He does worry.." he added to the pilots in a tone that
made Luke's teeth grate. Luke fixed Val with a gaze that should have
turned him to stone and quietly shook his head at him. Val's look was
just as hard and completely wicked. Luke had no option here. He left
the cabin, folded his arms outside the door and waited. A flight
attendant approached Luke. He saw a man with a military bearing, a
set chin, and a steely look in his eyes. He was a little hesitant,
but spoke up.
"Sir, I'm sorry but you'll have to return to your seat. The regs
require it."
Luke thought about arguing, but then decided there really wasn't a
point. He didn't think he had much to worry about as no one could get
to Val without going past him first. He had serious thoughts about
getting a leash for his young charge, one that could be tied down to
keep this from happening again.
Val was enjoying his freedom from the gorilla. The pilots were young
enough to be totally thrilled with their star passenger, and they
showed Val everything they could in the cockpit. Val kept waiting for
the door to explode inward, the gorilla having lost his normally good
sense of humor. It never happened, which surprised Val as he knew how
upset Luke was with him. He pushed the nagging thoughts of trouble
from his mind, intent on enjoying himself fully.
The flight attendant that had given Val the coke opened up the door
to check if the pilots needed anything. She saw Val there. "Hey, I
see you finally made it up front. Are they taking good care of you?"
Val turned his megawatt smile towards the young lady. "Very good
care.... Lucie. And you could help love. Would you bring me that
drink I asked for earlier? The Bloody Mary?"
"Whatever you want, I'll be right back." Lucie stepped out of the
cockpit, a huge smile on her face. Val had called her...love. She was
close to swooning.
Luke saw and recognised the look as she emerged from the cabin and
raised his eyes to Heaven. Just how far did Val intend on taking
this? His blood pressure started to boil as he saw what Lucie was
mixing at the bar. He changed position in the chair, gripped the arm
rests and stared out of the window, repeating to himself that there
was no way he could cause a scene here. Once Val had his drink and
had strutted around the cabin for a while, proving beyond doubt he
was the centre of attention, there was little else he could do except
come back to his seat. At which point, Luke had a few pointed matters
to which he intended to direct Mr. Quentin's attention.
Lucie finished the drink and headed back into the cockpit. Her hands
were shaking as she was about to hand a drink to such a well known
person.
Val turned as Lucie entered. He batted his eyelashes playfully and
acted like Lucie was giving him the best present in the world. "Why
thank you love." He took a sip of the drink. "That is absolutely
perfect my girl. Never had better."
Lucie smiled and quickly left, unsure that her legs would keep her
standing.
Val turned his attention back to the pilots, while quickly downing
his drink. If Luke didn't see him with it, what harm would there be?
Val remained in the cockpit for another 10 minutes.
"Mr. Quentin, I mean Val, we are approaching some rough weather. I'd
love to have you stay here, but we don't need headlines tomorrow
about you sustaining injuries from turbulence. It's been a pleasure
speaking with you, and come back anytime."
Val looked around the cabin, spying the third empty seat. "May I sit
here?" He asked, not wanting to return to Luke.
"Sorry, regs don't allow it. I would if it were at all possible."
Val shook the proffered hands of both men, thanking them and leaving.
He still had the empty glass from the drink and didn't know quite
what to do with it. Just then Lucie opened the door. Val shoved the
empty glass towards her. "Thanks, really love. Do me a HUGE favor?"
Lucie smiled "Anything."
"Get me some breath mints, and make sure Luke there doesn't know that
drink was for me. He's just a tiny bit over protective. May I stand
over in your station for just a minute? Oh, and do you have any
bananas?"
Lucie was loving this. She felt like the luckiest person on earth,
being asked to conspire with the star of the day. "Of course, come
on" she said, taking Val by the elbow and steering him out of Luke's
direct line of sight. "Here's the mints, and I think I have a bunch
of bananas, yes here they are." She pulled a bunch out of a bin.
"Great! Luke just LOVES bananas. Give him a couple for me, and I'll
wait right here. He'll really appreciate it."
"No problem." Lucie floated away down the aisle, mentally planning
several phone calls she intended to make to her entire collection of
friends when she got home. The tall, grim looking bodyguard had one
knee propped up against the wall, and his expression was anything but
friendly. With luck the bananas would cheer him up. So nice of that
sweet Val Quentin, every bit as nice as he looked on stage- so
thoughtful towards his staff.
"Excuse me sir? Luke? Mr. Quentin asked me to give you these with his
compliments?"
Luke looked in silence at the bunch of yellow bananas held out to
him. Then he reached out a hand and very gently accepted them.
"How very thoughtful of him. Would you tell Mr. Quentin I'm sure
they'll build up my strength perfectly for the day ahead?"
The girl smiled and happily went to relay her message. Luke flipped a
banana over in his hand and counted slowly to twenty.
You're not going to do it, Val. We are NOT going to make a scene
here. We are going to wait for a nice, quiet, private hotel room, and
THEN I am going to strangle you.
Lucie returned to her station to find Val with a mouthful of mints,
chewing noisily. "I think those bananas will help cheer him up. He
said thanks, they'll help him build up his strength for the day. Got
some big plans?" She asked innocently.
Val about choked on the mints as the words registered in his brain.
They had NO plans for the evening that Luke would need strength
for.... He swallowed the mints and was about to speak when the
pilot's voice echoed from the speakers.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now at 30,000 feet and two hours into
our four hour flight. We are approaching some heavy weather here
shortly, nothing to worry about but we will probably experience some
turbulence. Please make
sure your seatbelts are secure. The flight attendants will be making
their way down the aisle shortly to collect any drinks or food stuffs
that need to be disposed of. Thank you."
Val was all set to ask Lucie where he could sit when Luke made his
presence known by clearing his throat.
"MISTER Quentin. There you are. I've been keeping your seat nice and
warm for you."
Val gave Lucie a sickly smile and gave in to the steel hand closed on
his upper arm.
"Although," Luke went on quietly in his ear, "Not half as warm as you
will be the minute I get you somewhere private."
"It was a joke." Val said hopefully. "A great joke- looks like I
really had you going?"
"Ha ha." Luke fed Val into the seat ahead of him with exaggerated
courtesy. "Have a banana. They go great with Bloody Marys so I hear."
Damn. Val slumped into his seat, annoyed, thwarted, and once more
feeling depression creeping over him.
"Seatbelt." Luke said flatly, taking out a newspaper. Val ignored
him, folded his arms and gently kicked at the seat in front of him.
"I'm warning you..." Luke said without looking up.
Val huffed in frustration, but put his seatbelt on certain Luke
wouldn't let
him out of the seat anytime soon. He remained in a horrible mood,
hating having to sit still for so long, especially so close to a
gorilla who radiated frozen steam.
About fifteen minutes later the plane began to hit the turbulent
clouds. The plane bucked and tossed for the next fifteen minutes,
leaving Val with a pounding headache, partly from the liquor, partly
from the movements of the plane. He pushed the button for the flight
attendant before Luke could stop him.
"Quentin, what do you want?" Luke said icily.
"I've got a freaking headache. I want some aspirin. I don't think you
have any in your pockets, do you? I didn't think so."
Just then Lucie appeared. "What can I do for you Val?"
"You can get me a bar of soap." Luke said under his breath. Val
glowered at him.
"I'll have another Bloody Mary and a couple of aspirin love. And if
there's another seat free I'd appreciate it. It's getting a little
crowded and stuffy in here."
Luke began to fold his paper with calm, deliberate movements. "That's
an excellent idea Val. Is there anywhere a little quieter I could
take Mr. Quentin to cool off?"
Val's look became abruptly apprehensive. Lucie looked from one to the
other of them, confused.
"I er- I'm not sure. There's the steward's cabin, I could open that
up for you."
"No, I'll be fine, I'm sure." Val said quickly, "Just get me a coke
and a couple of aspirins and I'll sleep it off I'm sure-"
"No I think you'd settle down a lot better for a little peace and
quiet." Luke said sweetly. "That's such a kind offer, miss."
Lucie shot Val a look that he was finding less appealing by the
minute. "Oh nothing's too much trouble for Mr. Quentin here."
"Isn't that the truth?" Luke said, bowing Val out into the aisle
ahead of him.
Val was NOT happy with the turn of events. He thought he'd be safe at
least until the hotel room. Time to turn on the charm. He tried to
stop in the aisle, but Luke's hold on his arm remained strong, and
Val ended up stumbling from the pressure Luke applied to keep him
moving forward. That ticked Val off as they were moving past several
other passengers, and Val felt like a small child in the grip of an
angry father. Val tried to stop again.
"Quentin, move."
Val saw several passengers look his way, so instead of making a scene
he continued the few feet to the steward's cabin, which was located
between first and business class.
"Here you go. There is a bunk, you can relax there. I'll be right
back with the drink and the aspirin." Lucie said.
"Water and aspirin, thank you." Luke said smiling gently at Lucie.
"Water and aspirin it is." Lucie moved off unsteadily down the aisle,
as the plane was still pitching a little.
When Luke let go of his arm, Val immediately jumped into the bunk,
intent on
keeping his backside as far from Luke as he could. He was feeling
decidedly
unwell, and didn't feel the least bit inclined to have to parry with
Luke in the language before punishment. He turned on his puppy dog
eyes, blinked slyly at Luke, and said in a pitifully small voice
"My head hurts sooooooo bad. A nap would do me good. Thank you Luke,
for taking such good care of me."
"You want to make me nauseous too?" Luke shook a blanket out from the
end of the bed, dropped it over his brat and folded his arms, looking
down at him with no visible softening in his face or voice. "You stay
here, you stay put and you keep your mouth SHUT for the rest of this
trip, do you understand me? One more foot wrong and I'll stop caring
how thin those bulkheads are and I'll straighten you out here and now
with the rest of the plane listening in."
Luke wasn't given to idle threats and Val knew it. And the temptation
to lie down and rest was getting stronger by the second. Luke snapped
off the lights by the door, took the aspirins from Lucie and shut the
door on her.
"Get those down."
"What time is it?" Val peered to see Luke's watch in the dimness.
Luke took the empty glass from him.
"Another hour at least in the air. I'll wake you in plenty of time,
sleep this off."
The fact that Val did as he was told took a lot of the edge of Luke's
temper. Usually Val would have pushed his luck not just to breaking
but to shattering point, making a showdown nothing less than
inevitable. Luke shut the door to the cabin and took the steward's
seat outside, settling himself for the final hour's journey in peace
and quiet.
Val breathed a HUGE sigh of relief as the door closed and he was left
in peace and quiet. He promptly fell asleep, the plane's engines
sounding almost like a lullaby.
Almost as soon as he thought he had closed his eyes, Luke was waking
him up.
"Kitten? Wake up. We're about to land and need to be in our seats.
Val?" Luke shook Val's shoulder until he heard the grumblings of a
brat awakened too early.
"Go away! I'm still sleeping...." Val said slurring his words.
Luke tried one more time. "Val, come on, we're almost there. Get up
sleepyhead."
"No! Leave me be." Val tried to snuggle up in the covers.
Luke yanked the blanket off and quickly swatted Val's seat three
times in rapid succession.
"OW! Okay, okay!!! I'm up! Val quickly rolled over, away from the
punishing hand. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing sleep out of
his eyes. "I can't go out there like this, Luke. My hair, my face..."
"You look fine Val. We have GOT to get in our seats, now. Come on,
you can freshen up at the airport."
"LOOK this may not matter to you, Mr ripped jeans and last years
sunglasses, but I've got an image to-"
Val squeaked as Luke collared him, hoisted him to his feet and pushed
him towards the door.
"Are you walking or am I dragging? And even think about kicking me
and I swear I will blister you here and now. WALK!"
Val walked, swearing under his breath. Luke followed him, thinking
longingly about wringing his neck and wondering if it were possible
to make it a condition of his contract that he and Val always
traveled in separate planes. Or that Val conducted all future plane
journeys under heavy sedation. Or that he found the courage to forget
all sense of responsibility and took this kid firmly in hand, twenty
four hours a day.
The airport was filled with a number of fans that made Luke scowl.
Max had obviously briefed the press. He passed their bags to one of
Val's numerous aides and himself took a firm grip on Val's hand,
pulling him close enough to growl in his ear.
"Walk with me, quickly, quietly-"
"You were the one who said I should chat to the press." Val snapped,
trying to free his hand. Cameras were already flashing. Luke drew a
deep breath, tightened his fingers as far as he dared without Val
staging a public bout of hysteria- which he would not hesitate to do-
and pulled the young man with him through the corridors lined with
crowds. Val refused to be dragged at anything faster than a leisurely
stroll, waving and showing off with the stagecraft that made the
photographers love him. They hit a bank of photographers by the main
doors and Val pulled his fingers out of Luke's with a dexterous twist
that meant he was gone before Luke realised.
"Damn." Luke swore when he realised he was holding nothing but air.
He tried to quickly follow Val, but the crowd of photographers surged
around him, cutting him off.
Val made a beeline for a particularly good looking young man, intent
on nothing but aggravating Luke. The guy had press credentials for
some American magazine that he hadn't heard of before. He turned on
his megawatt smile and began to ooze the charm. The flashbulbs around
him were popping like mad, and all the reporters were anxious to get
a question in, making it nearly impossible to hear anything that was
said.
Luke began roughly shoving people out of his way, intent on
corralling his charge as he had just put himself in a very dangerous
situation. Luke continued to scan the crowd for any signs of security
issues. The security of the airport had been beefed up as they had
been alerted to Val's arrival, and they were having a time of it,
trying to control several groups of screaming teenagers. They were a
little upset with Val as they had hoped that he would make a beeline
for the exit. The increased foot traffic and screaming kids made
normal security for the airport a lot tougher.
Luke was well aware of the disapproving mutters of the airport
security staff and
the eyes flickering towards him that silently demanded what he
thought he was doing, leaving his charge to walk unprotected around
such a crowd. Luke resorted to swearing steadily under his breath as
he tried to force his way through to Val. In front of so many press
he could hardly stage a scene, yet he knew well that Val would do
nothing for him now without brute force. Val's self destruct button
had clicked: he would take this battle of wills to ridiculous
extremes and care nothing whatever for the consequences until he was
actually facing them.
Val took his time, doing every last thing he knew Luke hated. Shaking
every hand outheld. Accepting any flower or soft toy offered to him.
Stopping to chat with his sunglasses off and his hands in his pocket
in anything like the defensive positions Luke had trained him in.
Knowing he was driving Luke absolutely crazy. He was certain that no
harm would come to him, Luke was just too overprotective, and didn't
ever understand what was needed to keep everyone screaming his name.
Val turned away from the reporters and caught a glimpse of Luke. The
look he got turned his stomach inside out. Luke looked absolutely
ready to kill, and was headed straight for him. Val turned quickly
away, searching for an opening, some way to get away from Luke, or at
least stall him from being able to leave. Val realised he had gone
way beyond the rules of proper behavior, and that Luke would more
than likely take it upon himself to show Val the error of his ways,
in a way that Val would find much more than heart warming.
He spied a young lady that was holding out a stuffed toy. It was a
gorilla! Val headed straight for her, intent on taking the toy and
presenting it to Luke, making a big deal of it in front of the press.
A gorilla for his gorilla. Luke's hand snagged discreetly on his
belt before he got there and a voice breathed in his ear,
"You take one more step and I'll do it HERE!"
Val gave Luke a sweet smile, leaned across and took the toy gorilla,
taking the time to kiss the outstretched hand as he did so. Then he
gently put the gorilla into Luke's hand.
"Hold this for me Luke?"