And Playing the Role of Herself...

by K E Lane

  He knew it, and I knew it.

  "No, I'm fine with it," I answered, as he knew I would.

  In eight days time, when we started shooting for this script, I'd be kissing a woman on camera. It was up to Robyn who that woman would be.

  ##

  We walked back to the trailer in silence after our meeting with Grant, my mind back on Liz, and how to fix the sudden rift between us. I'd think about having to kiss Robyn, or some other woman, later.

  When I could freak out in private.

  Robyn was busy on her cell phone, setting up a meeting with her agent. She told him they needed to talk about "an interesting opportunity."

  An interesting way to put it.

  We walked across the lot, and my steps slowed to a stop as we passed Liz's trailer. I felt a gentle pressure on my arm.

  "I don't think talking to her right now is such a good idea, Caid." Robyn said softly. I hesitated, and she wrapped a long fingered hand around my wrist, stopping me from moving towards the trailer. "Trust me, Caid. Just let her be for a while. Try tomorrow."

  She tugged lightly in the direction of our trailer and after a moment, I started walking again. We entered the trailer without speaking; I walked around, absentmindedly picking up the few things I'd left out that morning before the table read.

  "Caid…"

  I swung around, blinking at her. "Hmm?"

  She looked as though she was going to say something, but then changed her mind. "So, what about this little trip you were talking about. I've got…" she looked at the bulky silver watch on her wrist, "two and a half hours, give or take."

  "Oh." I stood staring at her stupidly.

  "Were still on, right? You promised me lunch, Harris. Don't let me down."

  My lips curled into a smile. "Well, I do hate to disappoint."

  "Good. I hate to be disappointed." She held her arms out and looked down at herself. "Am I dressed appropriately for this trip?"

  I cocked my head to the side, taking the offered opportunity to study her from head to toe.

  "You're perfect," I said, and meant it. I looked at her feet. "Those look pretty comfy. Can you walk in those sandals?"

  She raised both eyebrows. "Will I need to?"

  "It's a good possibility," I replied vaguely.

  "I can."

  "Well then. Like I said - perfect." I grinned, and grabbed a small duffel bag off the table. "Let's get out of here."

  I led the way to my baby; a metallic blue Audi S4 Cabriolet convertible. It had been my first big purchase after landing a four-year deal on 9P, completely frivolous, impractical, and I loved it.

  The top was already down - I'd left it down that morning when I drove in - and I tossed my bag in the back seat, pulling the driver side door open and sliding in behind the wheel.

  Robyn moved around the car slowly, giving it the once-over. "Oh, Caid, I didn't know this was yours. I've wondered. This car is great." Robyn trailed a finger along the hood as she walked to the other side, pulled open the door and slipped in beside me. "I've always wanted a convertible, but I'm depressingly practical about things like that." She ran a hand over the dashboard with a delighted smile. "This is so cool."

  Lucky damn dashboard.

  I patted the steering wheel. "Twila, this is Robyn. Robyn, Twila."

  Yes, I named my cars.

  I know, I'm a dork, and I was definitely clueing Robyn in to my dorkiness, but I didn't really care. I was glad to be leaving the lot for a while, and happy to have her along as company.

  She patted the dashboard, her face completely serious. "Nice ta meet ya, Twila."

  The woman was perfect.

  I shook my head and checked my pockets for the keys, grunting when I remembered that I'd left them in my bag. I reached back through the space between our seats and pulled the bag into my lap, grabbing the keys from where they were clipped in the outside pocket, and rummaging around a bit more before pulling out a faded baseball cap from a charity event I'd done a few years back.

  "Might get a little breezy," I said, and handed the cap to her before zipping the bag up and tossing it in back.

  "Thanks." She was already pulling her long braid through the hole in back and settling it on her head. "So, where are we going?"

  She looked adorable. How can someone look so goddamn sexy and adorable at the same time? I shook my head again and started the car.

  "To lunch."

  She leaned back in soft leather and smiled. "To lunch."

  The studio was on the western edge of Pasadena, and I hopped on 210 for a bit before exiting north on Lake Avenue. Having the top down made conversation difficult, but neither of us seemed to mind not talking, just enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze. We stopped once at a deli where I ran in and picked up a bag of goodies, then continued on through Altadena and on to Chaney Trail.

  I caught Robyn's smile out of the corner of my eye when we passed the sign telling us we were entering Angeles National Forest. I let out a relieved sigh, not realizing that I had been worried she would be less than thrilled with our trip's destination. I pulled the car into a parking spot, noting with satisfaction that there were only a few other cars in the lot.

  Robyn turned to me, still smiling. "So this is lunch?"

  "Nope." I grabbed the deli bag, pushed the button to put the convertible top back up, and rolled up the windows, not wanting to tempt anyone with a wide-open car. "You're going to have to work just a little for your lunch."

  I opened the door and got out, and she did the same.

  "Hey," she said as she slammed the door. "No one said anything about working for my lunch."

  I just smiled and started walking, confident she would follow. We walked through a small campground, following the signs to Millard Canyon Falls. The trail wound along a stream through a small, shaded canyon, and we reached the falls in less than 15 minutes. The area around the falls was empty; the owners of the cars in the lot must have hiked on further behind the falls to the mine.

  I led us off the trail, over a few boulders, and under a tall oak tree near the canyon wall, plopping myself down on a flat rock. Robyn folded herself gracefully beside me, staring at the fifty-foot tall cascade of water not twenty yards from us. The stream was high from recent rains, and the falls were impressive. We hadn't spoken once during the short walk, but the silence had seemed comfortable, and not at all strained.

  I opened the deli bag, and the crinkling of paper attracted Robyn's attention. She looked at me expectantly.

  "So this is lunch?" she said hopefully.

  I pulled two sandwiches, two bottles of water, a slightly greasy bag of kettle chips, an apple, an orange and a brownie out of the bag, along with some napkins.

  "This is lunch." I handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water. "Apple or orange?"

  "Orange, please."

  I handed her the orange, and took a swig of water as she unwrapped her sandwich.

  She peeled back the bread, frowning slightly. "Roast beef?"

  "I've got turkey and avocado, if you'd rather. I'll take that one."

  She was still looking at the sandwich. "What if I'm vegetarian?"

  I had taken another drink of water and stopped mid swig. I lowered the bottle.

  "Are you?" Shit. I should have asked, instead of just assuming…

  "Hell no." She took a huge bite of the sandwich, chewing happily for a while and finally swallowing. "I just wondered how you knew I liked roast beef."

  I sighed in relief. "You just seemed like a roast beef kind of gal."

  She stopped eating for a moment, contemplating that. "I don't know if I should be offended by that or not."

  "I didn't mean…"

  "Caid," she laughed, and took another bite, talking around it. "I'm kidding."

  "Oh."

  We sat in silence for a while, eating our lunches and listening to the splash of the water against the rocks. When I was finished, I balled up the wax paper my sandwich had been wrapped in and put it back in
the bag. Popping a chip into my mouth, I leaned back on my elbows and closed my eyes, crunching slowly.

  "How was Brazil?" I asked eventually, opening my eyes and sliding them over to her. "You know they showed you almost as much as Josh?"

  She laughed, and leaned back next to me. "Caid, you wouldn't believe it. It was insane. I'd look across the court during this intense point, and the camera that was supposed to be pointed at the players was pointing at me. And god, every time we'd go anywhere, this huge cadre of photographers would follow…"

  "That seems to happen to the two of you here in the States, as well."

  "To some extent, yes, but nothing like that…Josh loves the attention, though." She shuddered. "Ugh. I can't stand it."

  That surprised me. She seemed very comfortable in the spotlight, as though she liked it.

  "Josh played well," I said, after a few more minutes of silence.

  "He did, didn't he?" She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, catching a stray bit of sunshine through the leaves and giving me an excellent view along the smooth, kissable line of her throat and down to the hint of cleavage where the edge of her shirt dipped lowest. I looked away and cleared my throat.

  "That match against Gruspania…that was a close one."

  She smiled, her eyes still closed. "I was afraid he'd be so upset after that one…he's usually such a baby when he thinks he didn't play as well as he could have. He wasn't, though."

  We were both quiet for a few minutes, before Robyn chuckled. "He wants to meet you, actually."

  I looked over at her, perplexed. "He does?"

  "Oh, he won't admit it, but I remember when I first started getting time on 9th Precinct, and Josh was all excited that I'd get to work with Caidence Harris, the hottest Balentine Babe ever.

  "Oh god," I groaned and closed my eyes. In my beer commercial days, I hawked Balentine Pilsner, a German-style beer, brewed in America, with an Irish name. It was surprisingly popular, especially with the college crowd. "You're kidding."

  "Nope, his exact words." She was quiet for a few seconds. "I'd like you to."

  I opened my eyes and looked over at her. She'd been watching me, but looked away.

  "You'd like me to what?"

  She looked back. "Meet him. Maybe we could all have dinner sometime. You could bring…a date, if you want…I mean, if you're seeing anyone…" Her voice was rushed, and then trailed off. She looked back at the falls.

  Wonderful. Girl-talk about my love life with the object of my unrequited affection.

  "I'm not," I said with a wry smile. "Frankly, I don't know how you have time for it. I usually fall into bed as soon as I get home. I can hardly get up the energy to brush my teeth, much less date. And that would be nice, by the way."

  She had been listening intently, and frowned at the last bit. "Pardon?"

  "Dinner," I clarified. "Or something, with you and Josh. If it's okay that it's just me, sans-date."

  "Just you will do just fine. Tomorrow night?" she asked hopefully.

  "Umm…" She'd caught me off-guard. I ran through my schedule for the next day. "We're shooting in the city tomorrow, so I probably won't be done until eight or so…"

  "Come to the house. Josh will grill. He can't boil an egg, but the boy can grill." She touched my arm briefly. "Unless that's too late?"

  Her head was cocked slightly to the side, watching me with those impossibly dark eyes. She'd left the hat in the car, and whips of dark hair had come loose from the braid and blown across her face.

  I struggled to breathe, overwhelmed by a sudden flood of emotion. Sometimes just looking at her did that to me. She was so damn beautiful…it made me ache.

  "No, it's not too late. I'd love to." I managed.

  She smiled brilliantly, our eyes met, and the ache intensified.

  I jumped to my feet, brushing the dirt off my jeans and gathering the remains of our lunch. "We'd better head back."

  "Oh…yeah." She sounded disappointed, but slowly climbed to her feet. "I guess so." Her hand brushed down my back, leaving a trail of delicious tingles in its wake. "Thanks, Caid. This was really nice. Is this a regular thing for you?"

  I looked around for a moment, regaining my equilibrium, and shrugged. "Depends, I guess. I like to get away from the set when I can, and there are lots of spots in Angeles within a half-hour or forty-five minute drive…I picked this one because it was close, and I didn't know how far you wanted to walk in sandals. I usually like to hike a little further."

  "I'll leave a pair of hikers in the trailer so next time, I'll be prepared." She was stretching her arms over her head, leaning one way and then the other to loosen her back, and didn't notice the huge grin on my face.

  Next time.

  Hot damn. I liked the sound of that.

  I packed away our trash and unwrapped the brownie, breaking it in half and handing one part to Robyn.

  "Energy," I said, "for the long, brutal hike back."

  She eyed the treat before taking it with a sigh of resignation. "If I keep hanging out with you, I'm going to have to add another mile to my morning run."

  I grinned, and took a bite, chewing happily. "You run?"

  She nodded, nibbling on her portion daintily. "Yeah, I started in college…just kind of a habit now. I swim, too, a couple times a week. It was either that, or stop eating, and I love to eat."

  That explained the long, sinewy arms and well-muscled shoulders.

  "How far do you usually run?"

  "Around five miles, I guess."

  I nodded. That was about what I did most mornings, too. Casually, I said, "We should go together sometime."

  She smiled. "Sounds like a good idea. It'd be nice to run with someone again…I used to run with Josh, but he's got this whole, 'I am a professional athlete and must crush you' thing going on." She said the last with an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent. "I finally told him to go try to crush someone else. Now he pays someone to get crushed."

  I laughed, and stuffed the last bit of brownie into my mouth before leading the way back to the trail, and we started back walking side by side.

  "I promise not to crush you. In fact, with those endless legs of yours, I imagine you'll be the one doing the crushing."

  Jesus. Did I just say that?

  Robyn shot me a curious look, but didn't comment. "It's a deal."

  We walked quietly for a few more minutes, Robyn dropping back behind me when came up on a group of three chatty, middle-aged women going towards the falls. The woman at the head of the group blinked at me in recognition.

  "Hi," I said, and smiled when her eyes widened in surprise.

  "Hello, ladies." Robyn's throaty voice drew the woman's attention away from me, and her eyes widened further, to near saucer size. She slowed as we passed, watching us open-mouthed. The two women behind her, absorbed in conversation, bumped into her back with squawks of surprise. Robyn and I walked on, smiling slightly at the furious whispering behind us.

  Robyn took two long strides and was beside me again, looking around at the canyon walls with a contented smile. She looked at ease, comfortable in this kind of activity.

  "I don't suppose you mountain bike, do you?" I asked suddenly.

  "I haven't before." She looked over at me and smiled. "But I've been wanting to try."

  Hot damn.

  ##

  I pulled Twila into her parking space thirty minutes later, laughing when Robyn patted her gently on the dash and whispered, "thank you".

  "Maybe you should get your own, Robyn." I got out, grabbed my duffel from the back and slung it over my shoulder.

  She fell into step beside me. "Don't need to now - I'll just have you chauffeur me around."

  I think she expected a comeback, but I had absolutely no problem with it, so I just smiled.

  We walked to the trailer, and I entered first, stopping abruptly when I saw a haggard looking Liz on my couch.

  "Caid…" She made as if to rise, then sank back down when she spotted Robyn behind m
e. She looked from me to Robyn, frowning.

  Robyn stepped slightly in front of me, her stance relaxed but perceptively aggressive. I looked over at her in surprise.

  Robyn, defending me? The thought made me ridiculously happy, regardless of whether it was true or not.