Together, Forever! Ch. 08

Date: 31.01.2010

Keywords: 08, Forever!, Ch., Together,,

Pages:
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"It's nothing, really," she said, hoping her words were believable.

"Victoria . . ." he began, eyeing her.

Looking down at her lap, she quietly said, "There are stories about you all over the tabloids." Sliding her gaze upward, she continued cautiously. "I couldn't help but read some of them while I was in line at the grocery store."

"Oh . . ." he said, suddenly very aware of her thoughts. He smiled at her as he leaned forward, catching up one of her hands. "I think I know what's on your mind."

She looked over at the hand softly caressing her own. "You do?"

"Yes," he said, bringing her hand to his lips, softly caressing her fingertips with his mouth. "You've got a lot to learn about the press and the tabloids."

"I've always heard that everything printed in them is bullshit, but . . ." she trailed off.

"But," he finished for her. "It bothered you to read some of the crap that was printed in there about me and Marisa, right?" She looked down again, embarrassed that he could read her so well. His hand reached over to cup her chin. "I have no intention of ever going back to Marisa and I am not yearning for her to return."

Victoria looked back up at him, sheepishly smiling. "I guess it was pretty silly of me."

"Victoria, you have no reason to ever doubt me. I'll say this, at one time before I met you; I had hoped that she would let me back into her life." He watched her closely for a reaction. When she just watched him, he continued. "Now, we're just friends. When she ended it, she didn't think we could survive the success that was sure to come with the movie and all the attention that she thought I would be getting."

"She was right, wasn't she?" she asked, intrigued now by the story he was telling her.

"In a way, I guess. But we could've survived it. I think, in a way, she was looking for an excuse to get out." He stopped when the waiter came back with their coffee. Taking a slow sip, he looked back at Victoria. "We're friends and I value our friendship but what we had is over now. Any feelings I had for her are gone, thanks to you."

Victoria's eyes lit up slowly, with a warm glow. She had hoped it would be something like that. "I'm glad." Picking up her own steaming cup, she couldn't help but think that Marisa must have wanted to be the only one in their relationship to be in the spotlight and Victoria couldn't help but feel a pang of anger at her. It was clear to her that she had been using Colin! But he was determined to keep her as a friend and Victoria wasn't about to complain.

"I don't want you to worry about the tabloids. They usually take an old story or something they have heard and twist it into a better story than it actually is." Victoria knew all too well what writers would do to get a good, sellable story.

"You have a way of making everything all right, don't you?" His voice was powerful yet gentle, and there was something very seductive about him. She could feel the pull of the man, just sitting next to him at the table, over their coffee.

"I try," he said, ever teasing her. Victoria's eyes held a caress that almost choked him, and for a long moment he just watched her.

As they left that evening, what Colin had told her about the press suddenly met them face to face as a group of photographers flashed picture after picture of them walking out to his car. Colin continued past them, cool as a cucumber with a perpetual smile glued to his face. Victoria was amazed!! She mused that she must have looked silly because she didn't know what to do, much less what to say. There must have been some reporters there as well, because they kept calling out questions to Colin about whom Victoria was and where Marisa was and did he still love her. Victoria couldn't believe they would actually say all of this in front of her, but here they were, doing it! Her blue eyes blazed as Colin smiled reassuringly at her. He closed her door and turned to face them. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but the flashbulbs were about to blind her and then she saw him making his way over to his side of the car. When he got in, all she could do was look at him as he drove off.

When she found her voice, all she could ask was, "What the hell was that?"

Laughing, he said, "That, my dear, is what I was talking about earlier." He looked over at her, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "That's the kind of shit I have to put up with all the time and now you will too." He quickly caught on to her quiet demeanor as he drove her back to her apartment. "Are you okay?' he asked, walking her up the iron staircase to the landing where her front door was.

"Yeah," she answered. "I guess I was just taken aback by all the press. They have a lot of nerve."

"It is a lot to get used to." What she didn't tell him was that it really bothered her to hear them talk about him and Marisa like it wasn't over between them. She was starting to wonder that herself . . .

"I enjoyed being with you tonight, Victoria." His voice was quiet, and she knew he meant it.

"Me too." Her blue eyes held his for a long moment and she smiled. All she could see was Colin, and how appealing he was. "You want to come in?"

"You have an early morning meeting," he reminded her, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "If I came in now, you wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight," he hinted a slow smile on his lips.

"Is that a promise?' she teased back, good at this game.

Colin groaned as he kissed her one last time, heading back down the steps. Stopping at the bottom landing, he turned to see her blow him a kiss. He waved as he got back into his car and she watched as his car pulled away from the curb and too quickly turned a corner, obscuring him from her sight.