A Humble Heart

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Ah, Dana, I have to talk to you. I have a list of interviews I need you to do. Plus I need to tell you we would like to renew your contract for another five books,” Rick said.

  “Okay Rick, send it to my lawyer. I’ll sign as soon as she goes over it with me.”

  He smiled. “Excellent.”

  Dana stood up to leave. “Wait. We’re all waiting to hear where you learned those erotic moves you displayed so well in those scenes.”

  Edward looked like he was going to kill Nick. She grabbed Nick by the arm and pulled him towards the door.

  “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

  “Damn you’re so pushy,” Nick grumbled. “But I like it.”

  *******

  Edward watched as Dana pulled Nick out of the room.

  He wasn’t having that. He jumped to his feet and grabbed his script. “Ah, Edward, perhaps you should calm down.

  Nick’s just playing. They’re really good friends, she’s safe with him,” Rick said, trying to stop him.

  He pushed past Rick and made his way into the hall.

  They weren’t there. He walked around the huge space and found Dana standing against the wall with her head dropped back and her eyes closed. She was tense, he knew that look.

  Without stopping he walked up to her and claimed her mouth. He kissed her with little regard for the dozens of pairs of eyes that were that were without a doubt fixed on them. Her arms wound around his neck as she returned the kiss.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he mumbled against her lips.

  She gently pushed him away. “It’s okay.” She ran her fingers gently down his cheek.

  Nick stepped out of his office. “I see you two made up.

  You can thank me later, Dana.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I guess my plans just evaporated for the night.”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t mind a night with my guy. Can I give you a rain check?”

  “Of course, sweetheart,” Nick said, giving her a lopsided grin.

  Edward took her hand and grabbed the helmet from Nick. “Thanks, Nick,” he said smugly.

  “You still haven’t told me why you picked him over me,”

  Nick pointed out.

  A playful smile tugged at Dana’s lips. She released Edward’s hand and moved to Nick’s side. She gently pulled him down so she could whisper in his ear. Edward watched as Nick froze and his expression turned into shock. Dana stepped back and shrugged. Nick looked at Edward. “I’ll be damned,” he muttered.

  “What did you say to him?” Edward asked when they were alone in the elevator.

  She shook her head. “Sorry sweetie, if I told you I’m afraid your head would get too big.”

  He groaned. “That’s worse than not telling me. Now I need to know.”

  *******

  “You want to go to a movie?” Dana asked skeptically.

  Edward pulled into the theatre complex parking lot.

  “Yes, I want to take my fiancé to a movie before she’s too big to make it down the aisle.”

  She stuck her tongue at him as she climbed out of the car. He met her around the front of the car and put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Who gets to pick the movie?” she asked.

  He scoffed, “I do of course.”

  “Of course,” she said dryly.

  “You can pick if you tell me what you told Nick,” he said casually, but she knew he was dying to know what she said.

  “You can pick the movie.”

  Damn it, he thought he had her. He desperately wanted to know what Dana could say to shut Nick up. It was about him, what she thought of him, so he really wanted to know.

  “You buy the tickets. I’ll get the snacks,” Dana said once they stepped into the movie theatre’s lobby.

  “Okay, baby.” He put his arm around her and kissed her.

  “Awe.” People around them made noises of approval, making them both laugh.

  “Anything in particular you want?” she asked.

  “You know what I like.”

  Dana made her way to the concession line while Edward waited in the ticket line. He kept looking back to make sure she was okay.

  “I’m such a big fan of hers,” an old woman in front of him said, drawing his attention.

  “I am, too.” He smiled.

  “I thought you did such a good job as Christian young man. In fact I’m here to see it for the second time,” she said brightly.

  “I’m glad you liked it.” He smiled.

  “Are you making a sequel for the movie?” a man piped in.

  “I’m not sure yet if the studio is picking it up or not,” he answered. He hated these types of questions. They could easily become demanding and hostile. He knew of course that they were. He was contracted for two more movies, and he looked forward to it.

  “They just released the sneak preview of Rogue today.

  That movie looks really good!” a woman said.

  “Yeah, I saw that! My mother was upset. She didn’t think those ten seconds of the love scene should have been shown on television. She was livid. I mean it was pretty erotic, but they didn’t show any more than they would normally show in a soap opera of a drama. It’s ridiculous,” a teenager with shaggy brown hair said.

  “They released the preview?” Edward asked. He hadn’t known that.

  “Yeah, you want to see?” The kid pulled out a hand held computer. He opened a saved file and the preview started.

  Edward found himself glued to the screen.

  The preview started with Dana walking down a street at night, she came upon a group of hoods and turned and walked back the way she came, ducking into an alley. She came to a skidding halt when she saw a man shoot two men. She screamed, making the man look at her. The video flashed to another scene of her crying in the middle of a hotel room, a knock at the door made her stand up and answer the door. Lucas stood there holding a badge.

  “FBI, Ms. Jorgenson, I need to have a word with you.”

  The screen changed to them running away from speeding cars, gunshots, and then she was behind the wheel nervously trying to drive while they were being shot at. The screen changed to them arguing on the side of the road. He didn’t catch what they were saying to each other but it looked good, passionate.

  “Here it is,” the boy said.

  The next scene had Dana slapping Lucas and turning to run away from him. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back silencing her with a deep kiss. The next scene showed them practically naked in bed with Lucas devouring her body for several long seconds, the scene ended with a steamy kiss, the next scene she was hiding in a dark room.

  She was crawling towards a computer. When she made it to the computer a hand grabbed her from behind and the screen went blank.

  “She’s a pretty good actress,” the old woman said. “I’m going to see that.”

  “That’s what everyone is saying. They can’t believe she’s an author. She’s really good.”

  “Yes, she is,” Edward said, smiling. She did great. The sex scene looked steamy, but having done sex scenes himself he knew how uncomfortable and unsexy they really were with twenty people watching you and ordering you around.

  “Oh my God! Edward Pierce!” a girl screeched.

  Edward looked back to see a large group of girls exiting one of the theatres. They all started screaming and pointing his way

  “Oh my,” the old woman said as thirty girls ran towards him screaming at the top of their lungs.

  “I would run if I were you.”

  Edward left the line and pushed his way through the lobby to get to Dana. As if they were a flock of geese the girls moved in on him as one. He found Dana standing in line looking nervous. Several men stood around her. From their body language it was clear they were bothering her.

  The fact that she was carrying another man’s children and wearing an engagement ring didn’t seem to stop them.

  She looked relieved when she saw him until she saw the girls r
unning towards him.

  Edward reached out and took her arm. He pulled her against his body protectively. One of the men reached out to take hold of Dana. “You don’t own her!” he snapped.

  “Wanna make a bet?” he snarled, pulling her towards the door, but a large group of girls blocked the exit.

  “Where are all these girls coming from?” Dana asked.

  She looked up at the movie listings and saw the reason, a Mason brother’s movie. They were the latest boy band group. They had millions of girls obsessed with them.

  “Edward, I love you! I want you!” Please be mine!” girls screamed. Several others screamed his name and their undying love for him. “I’ll have your baby!” another yelled.

  Edward looked around. They were now completely blocked. The girls were forming a huge thick circle around them. He pulled Dana into his arms tighter. “No! She can’t have him! I hate you, Dana Mathews!” girls screamed.

  “I don’t think they’re going to let me join your fan club,”

  Dana mumbled.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I think that route is out for you.”

  “Damn, I was really hoping to get the key chain and matching tee shirt.”

  He sighed heavily. “I’m really sorry, baby. I tried.”

  She wrapped her arms around him making the girls scream and cry. “I think if you kiss me right now they’ll tear me apart.”

  He held her tighter, afraid it was true. “Girls, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I need to get her home right now,” he said loud and clear, hoping some of the girls would use some common sense and move out of the way.

  “No! She’s a bitch! I hate you, Dana! You could have any man in the world why’d you take him?” they screamed.

  The girls were crying hysterically and moving closer to him. “Back off!” he snapped. They paused for a short second before continuing.

  “This is about to get really bad,” Dana whispered.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

  “911, what’s your emergency?”

  “My fiancé and I are being surrounded by crazed fans at Hoyt Cinemas on Chestnut.”

  “Sir, is this a joke?”’

  “No! Can’t you hear them screaming?” he asked.

  “Yes, how many girls would you say are there?”

  “More than a hundred.”

  “What’s your name, sir?”

  “Edward Pierce, I’m with my fiancé Dana Mathews.

  They have us trapped. There’s too many of them. I think the manager is trying to stop them, but it’s not working.” He felt an arm wrap around his neck. “Hurry!”

  “Sir, I have a unit close by.”

  “Unit? You’ll need more than that

  ..get your hands off her!” he yelled, dropping his phone. Girls were trying to grab Dana. He moved back towards her. Someone jumped on his back and was holding onto him. He felt a wet kiss on his neck. Girls were grabbing at him, trying to pull him away from Dana.

  Dana turned around and was gently pulling girls off of both of them. “You girls need to calm down. Relax,” she said firmly yet gently.

  They were suddenly pulled down to the ground. Dana was pulled away from him. He struggled to go after her.

  Girls were holding her down and attacking her. He saw girls trying to kick her in the stomach. She instinctively rolled over into a ball.

  “Get away from her!” he roared. He pushed girls off him roughly and pushed through the crowd, throwing girls to the side. He grabbed the girl that was kicking Dana by the back of the neck and pulled her off, throwing her to the ground. He bent down and picked Dana up. She was bleeding from the mouth.

  “Oh shit. Baby, are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine. I blocked the kicks.” He held her like a baby in his arms. They were moving back towards them. “Get away now!” he yelled.

  They continued to move. “Back off now!” a man suddenly yelled. Edward turned to see several officers pushing their way through the crowd. They pushed the screaming girls to the side until they reached Edward and Dana.

  “Come with me!” the officer yelled over the girls’

  screams.

  Several hands grabbed onto him again, making him stumble back. An officer turned around and had the presence of mind to hold out his arms. He grabbed Dana and carried her to safety. Edward fought against the holds.

  Several officers entered the theatre carrying riot shields and night sticks. It disgusted Edward to think it came to this where he couldn’t take his future wife out for a movie without getting attacked.

  An officer gripped his arm and pulled him out of the theatre. It took several minutes, because the girls refused to release him. They were still screaming his name when the door shut behind him.

  He looked around for Dana and found her standing in front of an ambulance, being cleaned up. Edward made a bee line for her. He dropped to his knees in front of her and pushed up her shirt to reveal her stomach. He ran a trembling hand over it.

  “I didn’t let them kick my stomach, Edward. The babies are okay,” she said, soothing him. She ran a hand through his messy hair. Edward pressed a kiss to her stomach and stood up, taking her into his arms.

  “Sir, we need to talk,” an older officer said. He realized this was the officer that carried Dana out.

  “Thank you for taking care of her,” Edward said.

  “Not a problem,” the officer said and then his face softened. “I’m a huge fan of your books, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, officer, for all your help,” she said. Edward felt her shaking against him.

  “With your level of fame, your impending nuptials, and her pregnancy not to mention more children at home, I’m going to suggest that you hire security. Neither one of you should be in public without it, especially this young lady.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, sir,” Edward said. “I’m going to arrange for it immediately.”

  “I would say two security members should be enough.

  Check their training thoroughly before you hire anyone,” the officer said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  A young officer ran towards them carrying a crushed phone. “Is this yours?”

  “Yes.” Edward reached out and took the phone. “Well, it was.”

  “Look, I need to get you two out of here, because those girls in there are still hysterical,” the young officer said.

  Edward nodded. He put his arm around Dana and led her to the car. They received a police escort home. As soon as they were in the house they called the parents that were watching their children, making sure the kids were okay. Thankfully the paparazzi weren’t interested in the kids at the moment.

  Dana sat on the couch and closed her eyes while Edward made phone calls. He called Eric who promised to hire security for both of them, because they decided to do the movie. They had three days to go through the script.

  She heard Edward walk into the room, but didn’t open her eyes. He placed a tray of snacks he made on the coffee table. Edward picked one of her favorite movies from their collection and popped it into the DVD player.

  He sat down near her and gently pulled her down so that she was on her side with her head resting on his lap. The movie began and Dana fell asleep with Edward gently rubbing her back.