“Do they know they’re in love?” she asked.
“Not completely.”
“Oh. Continue.”
“In this particular scene, Philline has been out working in the garden and she’s returning with a basket of food. As she walks along the trees, Feiro comes around the corner and almost runs into her. The tension of the scene is the fact that the two have never been so physically close.”
“So they’re turned on?”
Her question made me chuckle like a ten-year-old boy who was just told a crude joke.
“Yes. For lack of a better term, they’re turned on.”
“But it’s more sensual than that,” I said, taking over the description. “Think about it. These two are in love, yet they’ve never touched. Up until this time, all of their time together has been brief and platonic. So in that instant of running into each other, they realize their feelings for each other and that it’s a moment they might never get to have again.”
Mariah interrupted. “The way the scene is written, Feiro is pretty forceful with her. He grabs her and kisses her—”
“Crikey! This is a snogging scene? I can’t do a snogging scene!”
“Shh,” I hissed. “Just listen.”
“Imagining it in my head, I just don’t know if Feiro should be so forceful.”
“I agree with you, Mariah,” I continued. “When I read the scene, I felt like it was a little cheap. He really paws all over her. The scene was written more sexual than sensual and tender. I just don’t know if it fits with the times and the way they felt about each other.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Mariah agreed.
Kei shrugged and turned to go. “So are we done? It sounds like you three have it all figured out.”
“No. I need you two to help me rewrite it. Act it out. I’ve got my voice recorder here. I’ll describe what I see, and then we’ll go back and rewrite it from that.”
“You want me to
act out
a snogging scene? You actually want my lips to make contact?”
“Yeah,” Oliver said.
“With Cabot’s?”
“It’s just acting, Kei. No big deal,” Oliver insisted.
“But I’m not an actor.” She grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me toward her. “This really isn’t a good idea. You need to put a stop to this straight away. Do you hear me?”
“Why? It’ll be fun.”
“Fun? Snoggage with a pal is not what I call fun. I’m not kidding here, Cabot. You put an end to this nonsense right this moment.”
I shook my head and laughed. “No way. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
She tried to plead with her eyes, but I ignored the pleading and tried to ignore the fact that my palms were sweating and the room was spinning around me.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“I told you. We’re pals and it’ll just…it’ll just…”
“It’ll just what?”
She twisted my shirt in her hand and pulled me even closer. “I get that this is normal for you and that you can snog and nob with people all day and have it mean absolutely nothing. I, however, am not certain it’s possible for me.”
“I never said it wouldn’t mean anything.”
We stood staring at each other for an instant before she smacked me on the forehead with her free hand. “Quit messing with my mind, or I’ll knock your block off. Whilst you might find this humorous, I find it horrific.”
“Just do it,” I urged before pulling away from her and smoothing out my shirt.
“Just for the record, I’m back to not liking you. You’re a horrible human being.”
“You wish. At least if I were, this wouldn’t be so confusing for you.”
“It isn’t confusing. It’s unnecessary.”
I leaned toward her until our noses were practically touching. “It’s completely necessary. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into that thick skull of yours and make you admit to some things you don’t want to acknowledge.”
“You’re talking in riddles.”
“You’re ignoring the obvious.”
“Excuse me,” Oliver said after clearing his throat. “Is there something going on between you two that I need to know about?”
“Absolutely not,” she snapped as I murmured, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Can we just get this over with?” Mariah asked.
“You heard the woman,” I said, backing away. “Close your eyes.”
She refused.
“Come on, Kei. Close your eyes,” I urged.
After several seconds, she finally complied.
“Now take a deep breath…”
She drew a long breath through her nose as I watched her chest rise and fall as her lungs filled with air.
“Good,” I whispered. “Hold it for just a minute, and then slowly let it out. When you let it out, allow yourself to relax.”
As the air left her body, I could see her shoulders start to relax.
“Imagine you’re Philline,” I said slowly. “You’re deeply in love with a man you believe you can’t have. Don’t hold your breath. Keep breathing in and out.
“You’re returning from working in the field, and your hands are dirty and you’re sweaty. Suddenly, the man you loves startles you by coming around the corner and running into you.”
She took a quick breath.
“Are you there? Are you in that moment?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Here we go.”
Her eyes flew open.
“Close your eyes,” I whispered. “Don’t lose the moment.”
She closed her eyes again.
“Nod when you’re ready.”
I felt what Fiero would have felt the moment he saw her. My heart rate sped up, and my stomach shook. I was there. I just didn’t know if she was, until she nodded again.
“When you’re ready, open your eyes. Stay in the moment, and just open your eyes.”
“Feiro drew a deep breath as he watched Philline gather herself together,” Mariah narrated. “She was embarrassed by her appearance and uncomfortable with having a man stand so closely to her.” She stopped and waited for us to begin so that she could describe what we were doing.
Kei opened her eyes and let the scene unfold. I stopped acting.
“Feiro reached out to touch Philline’s face, but she startled and took a step back. ‘I’m sorry I scared you,’ he said. Feiro stepped closer and slowly reached out for her. This time, she didn’t move away. His hands trembled as they gently touched her shoulders and ran their way down the back of her arms until he took her hands in his. Philline took a deep breath. She was nervous yet eager at the same time. As Feiro stepped even closer, he brought her dirt-covered hands to his mouth and slowly kissed them before resting his forehead on hers. Although they remained silent, looking into each other’s eyes, their gaze spoke volumes. It spoke of their love for one another, a love that shouldn’t happen but they knew they couldn’t live without. Resting his hand on the side of her face, Feiro stroked her cheek with his thumb before slowly bringing his lips to hers.”
“Perfect!”
Startled, Kei started to pull away from me, but I pulled her closer and didn’t let go. My lips stayed plastered to hers.
“Cabot?” Mariah whispered.
I ignored her. “Cabot,” Mariah snapped. “We’re finished.”
Kei pulled away from me mid-kiss. My eyes were still closed.
“That’s all we needed,” Oliver announced. “Thanks, guys. That scenario works much better than the original. We should be able to do much more with this. Don’t you think, Mariah?” Oliver asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at Kei, who was looking at Oliver.
“Definitely,” Mariah said.
Kei nervously glanced back at me. I still hadn’t moved. I couldn’t register a thought, let alone speak.
“See you two later.”
“So that’s how it’s done, huh?” Kei said quickly. “Smashing.”
“Uh…” I shook my head. “About that…” My eyes scanned the room. “Um…”
“I’ll be off now. I’ve got things to do.”
“Wait. I want to talk to you about what just happened.”
“I can’t help you with acting notes or pointers of any kind. You’ll need to talk to Oliver or Mariah about that.” She scrambled toward the door and, as she did, rammed her shin into the coffee table and fell to her knees. “Bollocks! That’s going to leave a mark, a big black-and-blue bruise for certain.”
“Are you all right?” I reached out and touched her arm, but she yanked it away and crawled on her hands and knees, continuing an escape out the door.
“Okay. Right…I’ll…I’ll…oh, bloody hell…”
“Kei, wait!” I followed her as she scampered across the room to the door. “I really need to talk to you.”
“No. No thank you.” She stood, turned around, and walked toward the kitchen. With every other step, she raised her leg and gave it a rub. “I need ice.”
“Let me check your leg,” I offered.
“No way. I’m fine. The last thing I need now is to have you rubbing my leg.”
That last part was muttered, but I understood it clearly.
“For the love of Pete, what have I gotten myself into? Oh, for the love of all things holy, I should’ve kept my arse in Uganda.”
“Please let me talk you to.”
“It can wait.”
“No, it can’t wait. I need to talk to you now, before it’s too late.”
She pulled a bag of frozen corn from the freezer and turned to face me. “Before what’s too late?”
I was at the point of no return. I had to tell her the truth. “I-I know this might sound weird or like it’s coming out of nowhere, but it isn’t. It’s why I had to end things with Sofie once and for all. I’ve been feeling like this a little while now.”
“Feeling like what?”
“Feeling like I li—”
“Cab,” a voice interrupted.
I slammed my fist into the arm of the chair next to me. “Crap! Could one more friggin’ person keep me from saying what I need to say?”
“Who is it?” she whispered.
“It’s James, my manager.”
Kei held the corn on her leg as I walked over, swung the door open, and immediately began interrogating my guest.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were coming tomorrow.”
“I thought I’d surprise you.” James pushed passed me. “I assume you’re Kei?”
She nodded.
“Nice to put a face with a name, or part of a name anyway.”
“I’d better be off.”
She dropped the corn on the counter and tried to hurry past him, but he grabbed her by the arm, causing her to panic and try to wrestle free.
“Let go of me.”
He didn’t respond.
“Let her go,” I yelled.
James dropped her arm and held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t want you to leave on my account.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Not to worry. I’ve got work to do.”
“Where are you heading?” he asked.
“Like I said, I have things to do. I’ll leave you two to chat up. I’m sure you’ve got business to discuss.”
“Actually, you’re the one I have business with.”
“Pardon?”
“What’s this about?” I asked.
“I thought it might be good if we all had a chat.”
“A chat about what?” she asked.
“You,” James snapped. “Whoever you are.”
I felt my neck and jaw tighten at the sound of his voice. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
“Cab, you traveled all the way to Africa for this chick, and now you’re back here again? You don’t even know if you can trust this girl. You know nothing about her.”
“I know a lot about her. We’ve spent a lot of time together. I know her better than I’ve ever known anyone in my life. And more importantly, she knows me, the real me.”
“Does he know the real you, Kei?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Really?”
“She said yes. Leave her alone.”
James ignored me.
He dropped a large envelope on the coffee table. “I ran a background check on you,” he announced.
“You did what?” I yelled. “Who do you think you are?”
“Do you want to tell him what’s in the envelope?” James asked.
Her neck and shoulders tightened as she looked down at it.
“Don’t answer that, Kei. I don’t care what’s in the envelope. James, you’re out of line. You had no right to do that without my permission.”
“Open the envelope,” James insisted.
“No, Kei. Don’t.”
“If you’ve got nothing to hide, then open the envelope,” he yelled.
She bent over and picked it off up the table and started to open it.
“You don’t have to do that,” I whispered.
That was not how I wanted her to have to tell me about her past, not there, not afraid, and not with James accusing her of using me.
I felt like the trust we’d built over the previous months was draining from her body as she looked up at me. Her hands shook, and tears fell down her face as she slid her finger under the flap, opened it, and looked inside.