Lights, Camera, Kiss Me (Original): Chapter 2
"You have a date?"
“I have to go, Mum.”
Ryan waited for his mother to use her all too familiar weapons of sarcasm and guilt against him. Maybe if he didn’t look at the wheelchair his mother was sitting in, he wouldn’t feel so bad this time. Maybe.
“I shouldn’t be surprised you’re leaving me alone again-” she started.
“You’re not alone, Mum. Mindy is here.”
He knew Mindy struggled with some of the more gruelling physical aspects of looking after their mother, who suffered with Multiple Sclerosis. He wanted to hire someone to help his sister, but Janet Moore wouldn’t deal well with a stranger in her home, so his sister, Mindy, played the role of full-time carer to their mother. Whenever he was on a break from filming, he came home to help, but a week at a time was all he could manage in the toxic environment.
“You’re the typical Moore man, aren’t you, running away when I need you, and leaving a woman to do the work.”
She never failed to throw the accusation at him, so he should be used to it by now. It wouldn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. It didn’t matter how often he visited or didn’t visit. He would never be able to please the woman who had brought him into the world. In spite of the fact that he paid for all of her operations, her medications, and her bills, his mother had shown nothing but resentment towards him since the day their father had walked out on the three of them.
His early teenage years had been filled with her tirades of abuse. In a way, however, it was what had led him to acting. When she’d thrown a plate at his back, and he’d needed stitches, the Department of Human Services had been called in. He and his sister had been sent to live with his aunt right away.
Mindy had been angry about having to leave her friends in the beginning, but she’d liked their new high school, or rather the boys in her year. He, on the other hand, had been less than impressed with his new high school, especially when he’d been told he had to take a drama class. He’d wanted to kick the footy around, not hang out with the art geeks, so he’d been surprised when he’d actually enjoyed the class. It had been the first time he’d been allowed to express himself. The anger, the frustration, the pain and the rejection, had all poured out of him. He’d found a way to vent.
It had had such a positive effect on him that his aunt had enrolled him in a weekend acting class; and when he’d been encouraged to audition for a new Australian drama called Walker Brothers, he’d beaten out hundreds of hopefuls to claim the part of Joe Walker. Acting was exactly where he needed to be, and he had his mother to thank for every horrid, wretched, miserable experience of his childhood. They were great inspiration to call upon.
“I have to go. I have something on,” he told his mother.
“What is it you’re choosing over me? I want to know what’s so much more important than your mother this time.”
“It’s work related.”
“You’re a liar. I know you’re not on set till January. What kind of son leaves his sick mother?”
It wasn’t a lie. He did have something on. His co-star, Jasmine, was hosting a Christmas party tonight, and while he didn’t have to go, the idea of being around people who didn’t hurl insults at him constantly was far too appealing to pass up. Besides, he’d said he’d be there. Maybe he was selfish for leaving his sick mum to go to a party, but spending too much time with his mum put him in danger of becoming like her; angry, resentful, and bitter.
He needed to pull himself out from under the black cloud that had been looming over him since he’d come back. He wanted to spend time with people who cared about him and made him feel good – like his co-stars. Like Mac. Jasmine had asked him to pick Mac up on the way to the party, so he was heading straight there. It had been a month or so since the finale had aired, but he was used to seeing her every week, either for coffee, or at Jazz’s, when the cast of Hart’s Valley hung out together. Being around her lifted his mood. He needed that right now.
“I’ll be back for Christmas. Goodbye, Mum.”
Ryan walked forward, gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, and then walked out, trying to ignore the horrible words she was yelling out at him. Why did he bother hoping he could please her? Or win her approval? He couldn’t.
“Have a safe trip home,” Mindy told him, as she walked through the back gate; an empty washing basket on her hip.
“I’m sorry, Min,” he said to her. “I have to go. I have to get out of here.”
“I know. Thanks for being here this week.”
“I’ll be back in a few days,” he told her.
She nodded. “I’ll cook us a big fat turkey for Christmas, just like Aunty Rita used to make.”
“And I’ll bring the booze.”
“Bring me a few bottles of Taylor’s Cab Sav, will you? I need it.”
Their mother’s need for a carer had coincided with Mindy’s break-up to her long-time boyfriend. Ryan suspected Mindy’s decision to come back to Morwell had been about her trying to escape the pain, but she’d been tight lipped about the whole thing whenever he’d tried to talk to her about it. He didn’t know when she was going to wake up and decide she was ready to go back to the city, but when she did, they’d find a way to manage.
Mindy dumped the basket on her ground and hugged him. “It’s not true, you know, Ry. You’re a great guy. An awesome brother.”
He sighed as she squeezed him. “Love you, Min. Take care of you.”
“Love you too, little brother. Come home soon.”
***
Mac had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the knock on her apartment door. She wrapped a large, fluffy white towel around herself and ignored the way her hair was dripping down her back as she ran to open the door.
“Hey,” Ryan said to her.
She felt him take in her freshly showered appearance as he walked into her apartment.
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour,” she told him as he shut her front door.
“I made good time.”
He leaned forward and brushed a kiss along her cheek. It was what he always did when they greeted each other, but she was too aware this time of the fact she was standing there wearing nothing but a towel. It was a big towel, and it covered a lot of her, but she was still naked underneath. As if suddenly becoming aware of the same thing, he took a step back from her.
She took the opportunity to sweep her eyes over the black trousers and brown shirt with blue stripes he was wearing. He’d rolled the cuffs of his shirt up, exposing his tanned forearms, and the shirt brought out the colour of his eyes. He looked good. He looked sexy, and as the familiar scent of his aftershave wrapped around her, she realized just how much she’d missed him. It had only been a little over a week since she’d seen him, but it had felt like longer.
Not a good sign, Mackenzie.
“I can smell strawberries,” he said to her.
“It’s, ah, probably the shampoo and conditioner I use.”
“Well, you should go get dressed,” he told her, his gaze focused on the place where she’d fastened the towel around her.
Her breath caught in her throat as she noted just how dark his eyes were. A little thrill ran through her and excitement bloomed low in her belly.
“Make yourself at home,” she told Ryan, before quickly turning away from him, and almost running for the safety of her bedroom.
She closed the bedroom door behind her and stood against it for a moment. She had a date tonight. A family friend of the Coopers, Doctor Dale Morgan, was attending the party and Jazz had arranged for Mac to meet him there. Dale hadn’t been able to pick her up because of his shift at the hospital, but he was supposed to arrive sometime after nine.
Feeling nervous and excited over a first date was normal for Mac, but Ryan’s presence in her living room had made her feel more nervous and excited than the idea of her date with Dale had all week. The memory of Ryan’s eyes darkening as he’d looked at her in the towel was still giving her tingles. He’d liked what he’d seen and her heart rate hadn’t returned to normal since she’d stepped into her room.
She sighed as she started drying herself off. Ryan was her friend and co-star. She wasn’t allowed to be excited by him, even if his expression had almost set her on fire. She couldn’t let herself make the same mistake she’d made with Danny. She couldn’t have her leading man this time.
Ryan had been looking forward to spending time with Mac this evening, but after seeing her in that towel, he could kiss any hopes he’d had of relaxing around her goodbye. He still hadn’t told her they had some hot scenes coming up next season. Every time he planned to bring it up, something stopped him. Like tonight. How could he talk about them doing a love scene together when the images of her in a towel kept circling in his head, fuelling his lust? He was actually starting to feel a little…nervous about their upcoming storyline. Putting his hands on Mac, when he wanted her the way he did, was not a good idea.
Hopefully Jasmine would have her usual quota of single women at the party. He’d broken up with the underwear model a few weeks back, so he was free to play. Just not with Mac.
He walked into the lounge area and took a seat on the charcoal coloured, two-seater couch. He’d been to Mac’s apartment a few times. It was small, but she’d made good use of the space. A deep red rug on the floor matched the colour of the lightshade above it, and a glass table with a red candle and dish filled the area between the small TV and the couch. An old heater was mounted on the wall, and above that was a mantelpiece, displaying photos of Mac.
He sat there for a moment, before pushing himself off the couch and walking over to take a closer look at the pictures. There was a photo of her standing with two people. Judging by her resemblance to both of them, he guessed it was her mother and father flanking her on their farm. Mac had got the best of both their looks, he decided. Next to that was a photo of her in her school uniform. She was standing with another slight, blonde haired girl, wearing the same uniform as herself – obviously a friend she went to high school with. A little further along the ledge were several photos of Mac with the cast of Hart’s Valley.
The photo on the end had been taken the day they’d shot the last scene of the finale. Six of them had posed for the photo; Brad McDay, Matthew Caffney, Jasmine Cooper, Vanessa Rodgers, himself, and of course, Mackenzie. Their arms were wrapped around each other’s waists, and a grin was plastered on each of their faces. He’d had a lot of happy times this year.
“I love that photo,” he heard her say from behind him.
“Yeah, I was just remembering…”
Ryan couldn’t remember what he was going to say when he turned around. There was even more of her on display in the short, tight, ruby red dress that clung to her like a second skin than there had been when she’d just been wearing the towel. The red high heels, Santa hat, and gift-box earrings she was also wearing made the outfit complete. Her lips were painted the same colour as her dress, her eyes were smoky and sultry, and she looked like heaven on legs.
“Is it too much?” she asked him.
Well, it was too much for him. His blood pressure was soaring and his pulse-rate had doubled, and before he could stop himself from going there, he was imagining her long, shapely legs wrapped around him while they rolled around naked in her bed. His body responded to the fantasy playing out in his head in the most natural way. He turned back around to face the photos again, shoved his hands in his pockets, and prayed that Mac hadn’t noticed the rather obvious effect she was having on him.
“Should I change?” she asked him, her voice full of uncertainty. “I have a date.”
“You have a date?”
His voice was hoarse, and barely recognizable, but at least he’d managed to say something.
“He’s a family friend of Jazz’s. It’s the first time she’s been able to set up this meeting. I want to look good for him, but I don’t want to look like a trollop.”
Her date was probably the guy she’d mentioned Jazz wanted to set her up with some time back. The fact she had a date tonight should be good news, since it meant she was definitely moving on from Westlaker, however Ryan felt something suspiciously close to jealousy stab through him.
He turned around to face her again, his libido under control once more. “Shouldn’t he be picking you up then? Your date?”
“He was going to, but he doesn’t finish work until nine. I didn’t think you’d mind taking me.”
“I don’t mind,” he told her. “It’s just…been a really long drive.”
Mac felt guilt weigh heavy on her. She’d known Ryan had had close to a two hour drive from Morwell to the city and he’d had to go out of his way to pick her up, but she’d wanted to see him so much she’d ignored the fact. She’d missed him just a little too much, and she was just so…aware of him in ways she wished she wasn’t. She needed to be very, very careful here.
“I’m sorry,” she said to him. “I should have found another ride.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
“Can I get you anything?” she asked him, feeling the guilt still gnawing away at her.
“Nope. I’m all good. But if you’re ready, we should go.”
Of course Ryan wanted to get to the party. He was probably tired, and he wanted to relax, and pick-up. In all honesty Mac wasn’t looking forward to watching him get his flirt on with Jazz’s friends, but this was what Ryan did. He went through bouts of sleeping with a different woman every night, to relationships which lasted a month or two. Since he’d broken up with the underwear model, he’d been doing his usual sleep around routine. She hated it. She also hated the fact that she hated it. It wasn’t her place to feel upset about Ryan sleeping with other women. It wasn’t her place to feel jealous, especially when she was going to be on a date tonight.
She suddenly looked down at her figure-hugging dress. “I’m not showing too much skin for a first date, am I?” she asked him.
She’d loved the dress when she’d bought it from the boutique around the corner, but she was starting to feel a little anxious now. She didn’t want the doctor to think she was just looking for one thing.
Ryan forced himself to shake his head. “You look great,” he told her.
And there was no doubt in his mind that her outfit would have the same effect on every red-blooded male at the party that it had had on Ryan. He didn’t want anyone else thinking about Mac that way, but he couldn’t lie or hurt her apparently shaky confidence and tell her she needed to put on something else.
“Phew,” she said to him. “I’m ready then. I just need to grab Jazz’s bottle of Cointreau.”
She turned around and walked out of the room and he followed her into the kitchen.
“I know I put the bottle up here somewhere,” she said as she threw open the cupboard door above her head.
Ryan knew he should be helping her look for the Cointreau, but he had such a great view of her ass as he stood back against the kitchen counter. His eyes felt as if they were glued to the stretchy material of her dress as it rode up the backs of her thighs.
Get it together, man. You have to look away.
He yanked his gaze upwards, quickly locating the bottle she was looking for. It was just out of her reach so he walked up behind her and grabbed it himself, before placing it on the bench beside her. He was about to step back, but the scent of strawberries still lingered around her, so inviting. He didn’t move as she turned around to face him. He heard the hitch in her breathing as she registered how close he was to her. Her eyes locked with his, before they dropped down to his mouth. Why wasn’t he moving away? He had to step away.
Mac’s heart was beating so loudly she was worried Ryan might be able to hear it, and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe properly. His lips were mere inches away from hers. All she had to do was lean in a little and she’d be able to feel them on hers; but he was finally taking a step away from her. Thank goodness. The fantasies she’d had as a teen; the chemistry between them now as adults – it was just so much to resist.
But she had to resist it.
“I’ll just grab my bag, and we can go,” she said to him, running for the safety of her room for the second time that evening.
Ryan uttered a curse word under his breath as Mac went to get her bag. He didn’t dare follow her into her bedroom. He was in trouble. Big trouble. He could have sworn she’d been waiting for him to kiss her just a moment ago, but she wasn’t supposed to want him to kiss her. He wasn’t supposed to let this happen. It was as if being away from her for the past week had made it clear to him just how much he really desired her.
He hoped to hell her date went well tonight, because without a major deterrent, he was starting to worry he wouldn’t find the willpower to resist the temptation that was Mackenzie Lauren.