The Unidentified Redhead

by Alice Clayton

  Before I knew to look for it though, it was gone.

  “Well, I'm glad I can amuse you. You're mildly entertaining to me as well. Although, as Holly can attest, I can become a lot to take,” I answered, suddenly becoming shy. Sara had answered a phone call during our latest round of banter and I found myself alone with him.

  I was very aware that our only physical contact so far had been two handshakes and a perfunctory rub down through a towel when he was helping me to dry off. I wanted contact.

  “I somehow doubt that, Sheridan. In any case, I'm quite sure I can handle it,” he said, moving slightly closer.

  If I weren't so conscious of where he was in relation to me, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Nevertheless, every single molecule, every particle, every speck of matter between us had begun to hum and I was aware of everything. I knew exactly where he was.

  Keep moving over here, sweetie, keep moving.

  “I don't think you realize how nuts I actually am. And no one 'handles' me, Hamilton,” I taunted, creeping infinitesimally closer to him. Now I was the one on the move.

  “I think you're the right kind of nuts. I like girls who are nuts.”

  I could literally feel his eyes on me. I could feel them moving across my body. I watched as his lips pushed his words out, watched the tip of his tongue slide gently across his lower lip as he punctuated his sentence. He cocked his head slightly to the side and as he raised his right hand to his head to run his fingers through his hair, I finally noticed his hands, his fingers.

  Holy Lord, look at his hands. Good. Night. Nurse.

  The tension was so thick in the room, it was too much. He was too much. I couldn't take the pressure, so I panicked. Sexy and in control Grace left and twelve-year-old dork Grace took her place.

  “Heh heh, you said nuts,” I burst out. My self-edit button was now turned off for good.

  Grace, you suck.

  I began to giggle uncontrollably as I watched his face scrunch up. My giggles turned into chortles, then guffaws, and finally full on belly laughs—the kind where you look more in pain than anything else. I was completely into the ugly laugh stage. Thankfully, after he observed my display for a moment, he joined in.

  I grabbed onto him, almost losing my balance in my frenetic state of mind. I was laughing so hard I was seeing stars, and about the same time Jack started wiping tears away from his face, I could feel mine fall as well.

  When we finally began to settle down, I noticed he was staring at me with a look of contentment. The kind you only get after a truly great laugh.

  “Oh man, you really are nuts,” he sighed.

  “Don't start. I can't handle another fit like that,” I began to giggle again and then squelched it down. We stared at each other for a long moment, our breath still coming fast from the insanity of what just happened. And not just the laughing.

  Sara came out from the inner offices and said, “Grace, Holly is just finishing up on a call, but she said to come on back.”

  Holly? Who's Holly? Oh, right…

  I turned back to Jack. “Well, it's been—” I started when he interrupted me.

  “Huh uh. You have a meeting with Holly for coffee right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I'm staying right here, and when you're done, you and I are going for a drive. Yes?” he stated, rather than asked.

  “Yes,” I answered, not even bothering to try to come up with something witty. I started for Holly's office, but then stopped to look back. Jack was settling himself down on the couch in reception, getting out his iPod.

  “I'm not going anywhere, Sheridan. Now get your ass in there and take your meeting,” he commanded with that sexy half grin. He was serious.

  “OK,” was all I could come up with as I continued toward Holly's office, totally dazed and confused.

  You are so in over your head.

  ***

  I walked down the hall, trying to regain my focus. Holly knew me too well, and if she saw me at all flustered, she would give me hell. I composed my face and pushed the office door open.

  “So, are you two fucking yet?” she asked, a telltale grin on her face. Heat burned across me with the image of Jack underneath me, face flushed with passion, that same sexy grin on his lips as he said my name. I quickly recovered and sat down.

  “Who am I allegedly fucking?” I asked, trying to play it off. She would have none of it.

  “Bitch, please. Who do you think you're talking to? I just spent thirty minutes with him, dancing around the issue of Grace Sheridan. He's so transparent. He likes you. He thinks you're 'cool',” she answered, using air quotes.

  “I am cool, but that's beside the point. Did he say anything else?”

  “No, except that when I mentioned that I had a meeting with you today he seemed to already know about it. Now how would he know that, Grace?” she teased.

  “He might have called me last night,” I answered.

  “And what time did he call?” she continued, eying me carefully.

  “Uhm, it was about one-thirty this morning,” I said, almost under my breath.

  “No way! That's a booty call. I knew it!” she yelled, as I attempted to shush her.

  “Shut up! He'll hear you,” I whispered.

  Her eyes got wide. “He's still here? Why?” she asked.

  “He asked me if I wanted to go for a drive after I was done with you and I said yes,” I said quietly, wishing I were anywhere but here. She was going to tease me mercilessly about this. My new friend and me. My much younger new friend. She didn't tease though.

  “I think that's great, Grace. Have fun…just be careful. The press is starting to really ramp up lately with him and his fans are beginning to seek him out. You'll see,” she warned. “Enough of that. Let's order up some coffee and get started on your showcase piece.”

  She pushed the speaker button on the office intercom and we could hear Sara giggling. “Hey, Sara, can you make a run to Starbucks for us?” she asked, rolling her eyes kindly at the giggles.

  “Sure, Holly, what did you want?” she asked, her voice high. She was obviously still losing her mind out there over Mr. Hamilton.

  You might be losing your mind, too.

  “Grande Soy Carmel Macchiato for me. What do you want Grace?” she asked

  “Tall non-fat, no-whip Iced Mocha with three sugars please,” I shouted over the intercom.

  “Doesn't anyone just get regular coffee anymore?” I heard Jack grumble in the background.

  “Quiet, Brit boy,” Holly warned, “or I will make sure you get cast in High School Musical 4: Electric Boogaloo.”

  I laughed loudly and then heard Jack say, “I might need to rethink my representation.”

  We worked for about an hour, planning which scenes I was going to do. My scene partner would be another actor she was representing and we were doing a scene from a film that had not even been released yet, where the two characters kiss for the first time and change the trajectory of their relationship forever. It was intense and sweet, and I think we would do it justice. The second scene was between a couple going through a messy divorce and it was full of tension and drama. The two scenes did exactly what a showcase should do, highlighting the emotional ranges that an actor was capable of.

  We had yet to choose the songs, but I had a few in mind. Holly and I agreed to discuss it again later that night after I had narrowed my choices down. As we were finishing up, I was reminded of the treat that was waiting for me out in reception, and my heart sped up a little. We walked out towards where we could hear Sara, who was still giggling for God's sake, and I looked at Jack. He was still sitting on the couch, listening to his music, exactly where I had left him. He looked up as we walked out and he smiled at me, standing up to walk over.

  “Gee, Jack, what are you still doing here?” Holly asked him directly, as I blushed behind her.

  “I'm trying to chat up your friend here. And don't pretend like you don't know everything already. I
could hear you two cackling in there,” he said, placing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me towards the door.

  “See you at home!” I said to Holly as we walked out, leaving Sara and her wide eyes behind. She had finally stopped giggling.

  “Don't forget we have a date with our gay tonight, Grace!” Holly called after me as the door swung shut. Once we were in the elevator lobby, he dropped his arm and leaned against the wall, looking at me.

  “So, what do you feel like doing?” he asked.

  “Hey, man, this was your idea. I thought we were going for a drive,” I said, as we entered the elevator. He pushed the button for the ground floor and turned to me. We were alone in the elevator and I began to feel the tension from earlier building again.

  “Well, we can, but I have to warn you. I have kind of a shit car. I only bought it because you can't not have a car in L.A. We should probably take yours,” he said, smiling slightly.

  “You asked me to go for a drive and now you want to take my car? What the hell, Hamilton?” I laughed, as the elevator dinged open. “Come on,” I finished, walking in the direction of my car. My black convertible was parked at the end of the row and we walked towards it.

  “Did you have a place in mind where you wanted to go?” I asked, tossing him the keys.

  “You want me to drive?”

  “Yep, this is your party. Where are we going?”

  “Santa Barbara?” He grinned back.

  “Nope, I can't leave the greater Los Angeles area.” I laughed, thinking there was nothing in the world I would like more than to drive to Santa Barbara with him.

  “Well, how about we drive Sunset to PCH and then grab some lunch, sound good?” he offered, starting the car.

  “Yes, I love driving Sunset, especially once we get past Hollywood. Top up or down?” I asked, my finger on the button. He looked at me, turning the full force of his green eyes on me.

  “Top definitely down,” he said, as his eyes left mine, moving lower across my body and then finally back up to mine. I let my breath out in a slow whoosh.

  Damn.

  “Whatever you want, Hamilton,” I said quietly, my heart struggling to return to normal. This guy had yet to hug me, hold my hand, even touch me really, and with his eyes alone he had me coming apart at the seams.

  “I'll remember that, Grace.” He smiled sexily.

  Double Damn.

  ***

  As Jack and I made our way through the streets of L.A., we began the process of actually getting to know each other past all the banter. We talked about how long he had been in California and whether he preferred it to London. He didn't. I asked him about the film that was coming out in just a few months, pretending that I still knew nothing about the story. He gave me the CliffsNotes version. I prayed silently that he wouldn't reveal anything that happened late in the series as I was still only about halfway done. I would have to get on that.

  Jack had been working in the industry for just a few years, having been spotted in London one day by a casting director. He auditioned for a small role in a movie for the BBC and then began working in independent films. After landing some breakout roles in a few high profile films, Hollywood had come calling. Being cast as the lead in Time had quickly made him an official 'star on the rise' and 'one to watch'. He called it all 'rubbish'. He loved acting, but I got the sense that he could walk away from it all and be happy working on a set somewhere in London's West End.

  As Sunset wound its way through Brentwood towards the Pacific Palisades, we moved on to other matters. I discovered he had two older brothers, and that he had lost his mom to cancer when he was only sixteen. His father was still in London, but one of his brothers was now living here in the States, working for the embassy in Washington, D.C.

  We both liked dogs and cats equally. We discussed the last few movies we had seen, whether we liked the current president, and I discovered that we shared a mutual love of Tina Fey. We laughed as we talked about our favorite sitcoms, and argued whether the UK or US version of The Office was better. I thought he secretly preferred the US cast, but being a proud Londoner, he could never admit that. And we found out that we were both massive U2 fans; he scored big points with me on that one.

  As we talked, I found him to be delightful. He was charming and funny yes, but I could tell he was also very intelligent. He seemed interested in what I had to say as well, and I couldn't remember the last time I enjoyed talking to a guy more.

  I had plugged my iPod in when we first took off and we'd been so busy talking that I hadn't even turned it on. I selected my favorite “driving” play list and turned up the stereo. When the song came on, he looked at me curiously.

  “What made you turn this song on?” he asked, moving his eyes back to the road, which was beginning to get curvier as we got closer to the mountains.

  “Oh, this is one of my all time favorites. This is my driving play list, when I just want to relax. Do you like it?” I asked, tucking my feet underneath me on the seat as I settled back. He didn't answer, but smiled at me.

  I pulled on my ponytail, letting my hair spill out behind me and get picked up by the breeze. I could feel myself begin to relax further and a slow grin spread across my face.

  “This song never ceases to make me happy. If I had a top five song list, this would be on it.” I leaned my head back against the leather seat and let “Into the Mystic” pour over me.

  I began to sing as we drove; I could never resist when this song was on. I sang along, keeping my eyes closed as I let my hand trail along in the wind. The sun was shining perfectly, warming my skin and making little patterns on the inside of my eyelids. It was one of those moments when you find yourself and your own little world in perfect harmony. I was content.

  I could feel Jack's eyes on me, and when the song was over, I looked at him. The sunlight had caught his hair and was bouncing colors of blonde, wheat, toffee and vanilla around him. His eyes were burning green as he watched me. He hadn't spoken since the song came on. He looked at me for so long that I began to get a little self-conscious about my singing. Not everyone was a sing-along-in-the-car kind of person.

  “Sorry, I tend to get a little carried away,” I began, when he took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it on my arm.

  “Shh,” he said softly. “That was lovely, Grace,” he continued, smiling sweetly at me as he lightly traced shapes on my skin.

  OK, look. Whenever I hear people say that they felt “sparks”, I usually think it's a load of poo. I mean, I have felt attraction to people, sure, and I have even felt some instant lust. But sparks? Please.

  Then he touched my skin. Purposefully. Pointedly. Nowhere near platonically.

  Sparks. Sparks. Sparks. Hot sparks. Flashing sparks. Lightening bolt sparks. Hal Sparks? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph sparks.

  We were at the end of Sunset Blvd where it meets the Pacific Coast Highway. I pulled my gaze away from his and looked across to the Pacific crashing intently against the sand.

  “End of the road, Grace. Where do we go from here?” he asked gently, still touching my arm.

  “Gladstone's,” I croaked out, breath catching in my throat.

  Where?

  “Where?” he asked, snapping out of his own reverie.

  “Gladstone's,” I said again, pointing to the restaurant on the other side of the PCH. “I need to eat.”

  My breathing was finally coming under control again, and he chuckled a little as he followed my finger.

  “Ah, I see. Well, then let's get you fed.” He grinned as he turned onto the highway and into the parking lot.

  The_Unidentified_Redhead

  Chapter Seven

  Gladstone's is one of my favorite restaurants, and although it's a little touristy, it is perfectly so. It's an indoor/outdoor restaurant, with a worn plank floor and concrete benches to sit on outside. We chose to do just that and had the entire Pacific Ocean as our backdrop. I ordered a beer immediately, which Jack joined me in as we
continued to smile at each other. I know I must have looked like I had fallen asleep with a hanger in my mouth. I could still feel his hand on my arm, as if it had burned an impression there.

  Our server came back with our beer and we ordered our lunch. Being a seafood restaurant, I always got the she-crab soup and the coconut shrimp. I'd been ordering the exact same meal for years. Even when I would come back to visit, I would always make Holly bring me here.

  After the waitress finished taking our order, Jack raised his glass of Killian's Red to me and said, “To Van Morrison, and the sexiest version of ”IntotheMystic“ I've ever heard.”

  I blushed a little. “Well, thank you, sir. I tend to lose control when I hear that song, Although you are really in for it if a U2 song ever comes on the radio. I really lose control when I am subjected to The Edge,” I admitted.

  He thought for a moment. “Well, here's to me finding more ways to make you lose control,” he said, giving me a wink.

  Before I had a chance to respond to that little nugget, I saw his eyes flick up behind me. I turned and noticed two women, a little older than I was. They wore that same expression Sara had on this morning. They began to approach us, and they both giggled uncontrollably, neither one of them wanting to be the first to say anything. Finally, the bolder of the two stepped forward and said, “Hi, are you Joshua…I mean, Jack Hamilton?” she asked, collapsing in a fit of laughter.

  I struggled not to laugh myself, smiling quietly as I looked at Jack.

  He began to blush and answered, “Yes, how are you? What's your name?”

  “Wow, I'm Claudia and this is Michelle. Can we take your picture?” she rushed out, with the other woman, Michelle, convulsing next to her.

  “Sure, of course.” He smiled as they clicked away merrily, meeting my eyes once and winking. The two women paid no attention to me…they were caught up with their Super Sexy Scientist Guy.