“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Bree asked.
“No, and I think we got what we wanted. Look at the terror in his eyes when the console blew,” Jessup said with glee.
When I did my happy dance, they all looked at me with big grins.
“Dude, you are so screwed,” Craig crowed.
“Why?” I asked in confusion.
They all laughed at me.
“You’re screwed because they’ll use your dance in their marketing. You’ll be plastered all over TV doing the ‘Stryker Dance,’” Bree shared.
Shit!
“And what was with all the cussing?” Jessup said with a stern look on his face.
I just shrugged and his face broke out into a grin.
“Relax, David,” he said. “We can edit it. I, uh, think”
“Since we just went from PG-13 to an R rating, we may have to up the heat in the sexy scenes,” Elizabeth said with a smile.
She and I had a make-out scene. I could see her evil mind at work. I just had a lopsided grin.
We had several more scenes to shoot on the damaged set. We needed to get the ship back to the academy.
WE WERE DONE BY FIVE and Jessup let us go early. Halle found me in the dressing area in just my boxers. I heard a sharp intake of breath.
“What are you doing back here?” I asked
“I came back to see if you’d take me to dinner,” she said with a big grin.
“If your brother catches you, we’re both dead.”
“Let me worry about my brother. Are you taking me to dinner or not?”
“Sure, I’ll meet you out front.”
She dashed off just as Craig and Trip came out of the shower.
“What was my sister doing back here?” Trip asked.
“She wanted to ask me to take her to dinner.”
He just shrugged and went back to talking to Craig. I hurried up and got dressed. As I walked to the front, one of the production assistants did my dance. I just shook my head and went to find Halle. I found her; she rushed up and kissed me. It was just a quick kiss, but it held so much promise. I was a little dazed as she grabbed my hand and led me out to the town car that awaited us. I heard someone yell my name, and I turned to see a photographer take our picture.
Halle must have decided to make her claim on me because she grabbed the back of my head and gave me a scorching kiss. I reacted naturally and pulled her into my arms. I felt her firm breasts mash into me and suddenly wanted to skip dinner. We broke our kiss and smiled at each other as our foreheads touched. I was brought out of my lust by the sound of a rapid-fire camera going off.
The paparazzi wanted to know where we were going. I was surprised when Halle told him. When we got into the car, I asked her about it.
“You forget I grew up in the business. My mom taught us how to get our names out there. Being on the arm of an up-and-coming star will do both of our careers a world of good,” she explained.
“Are you only going out with me to get a mention on the Internet?” I asked.
“No, that’s just a side benefit. I’m going out with you because I like you and want to get to know you better. Speaking of which, kiss me,” she ordered.
I didn’t have to be told twice. Her soft lips found mine and I wasn’t sure who moaned, but we both enjoyed it. I had decided to continue to be a gentleman until she grasped Mr. Happy. I knew for a fact that I was the one who moaned when that happened. I couldn’t help myself, I wrapped my hands onto her shirt-puppies and didn’t let go until the driver cleared his throat to let us know we were at the restaurant. I tipped him very well for his discretion during our make-out session.
When we walked in, I could tell we weren’t dressed for this place. I wore jeans, a t-shirt and my letterman’s jacket. Halle was in jeans and a sweater. Everyone else was in at least a sport coat. The maître d’ looked at my tattoos and it looked like his first inclination was to throw us out. That was until Halle explained who we were. She then explained I looked like that because of the movie we were making. I was shocked as his attitude changed. Halle just winked at me as we were led into the center of the restaurant and seated where everyone could see us.
As we walked in to be seated, it looked like the other diners had mixed emotions. Some looked like they were offended that two teenagers dressed the way we were could be allowed to invade their space. Others looked on with curiosity as we were being paraded to a prime location. Then I caught a few who looked at either myself or Halle with lust, much more so with Halle. The women who checked me out had to think I was some sort of bad boy.
During dinner, I focused on Halle. She told me about growing up with a famous mother and the battles with paparazzi. Her mother wanted to protect her and Trip from the public eye, but it was a losing battle. They finally decided to just embrace it and use them. The high school she went to had several teens that were in the business, so she didn’t get bothered much. The downside was she didn’t get asked out. The boys at her school knew to date her was to invite the public into their life. Other boys just wanted to be able to say they scored with her, and a handful wanted the fame.
“You’re telling me you have never been kissed?” I asked.
“Not exactly, but I’ve never been kissed by someone who was doing it without an agenda. I had a long talk with Kent and my brother about you this week. They both agreed you hadn’t shown any of the mercenary tendencies I try to avoid. Kent said he genuinely likes you. My brother says you’re hot,” she said with a blush.
“How does that work for you two? Have you ever both wanted the same guy?” I asked.
“If you gave off even a hint of interest in the same sex, my brother would have bedded you by now,” she said to my discomfort. “My brother and I have different taste in men. That was the case until he met you. He somehow knows if a guy has any leanings. Trip is very successful at seducing men. I have zero interest in a guy like that. I let my brother have first shot so he can weed them out. He said you had a terrified look on your face when he checked you out.”
“Yes, I was a little nervous. Something told me I was being stalked by a guy. I’ve never had that happen to me before,” I confessed.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe from Trip. Now that he knows I’m interested, he’d never make a move on you. I think if you got to know him, you and he would be good friends. He’s a great guy, even if he is my overprotective brother.”
“I like Kent a lot. If he and your brother are friends, I suspect I’d like your brother.”
“I’ll tell him you said that,” she teased me.
“Careful. I would hate to dump you so early in the game,” I shot back.
We had a wonderful meal. I had a huge rib eye and Halle ate a vegetarian dish. Everything had gone great up to the point some ass-hat sent a drink over to her. The waiter dropped it off and we both got a confused look on our faces because we weren’t old enough to order alcohol.
“We didn’t order this,” I said.
“The gentleman over there sent it to the young lady,” the waiter offered, pointing to a man seated alone by the windows.
“Please take it away,” Halle said.
The guy got up and walked toward our table.
“Get security over here, or I’ll kick this guy’s ass right here in the middle of your restaurant,” I told the waiter.
The waiter took one look at my face and blanched. He hurried off to get help. The guy looked like he was in the junior mafia. He was at least thirty. When he got to our table, I stood up and stepped between him and Halle.
“I don’t know what your game is, sending alcohol to a high school girl, but I would suggest you not approach my date.”
I think he didn’t realize how big I was. He looked up, saw the look on my face and my tattoos, and flinched. Several restaurant employees showed up.