Chapter 11
"Do you and Josh hang out a lot?" was the first thing Sam asked me when Josh drove off.
"Not really. My sister likes to go to the horse barn with Henry, and sometimes I go with her, so I see him that way."
I grinned at him when he glanced at me, and he gestured toward the path. We took off walking.
"I had fun today," I said.
"Yeah, me too. I think it went as good as it could have. I thought we would be there all afternoon."
I nodded and smiled. "I know." I cut myself off. I started to elaborate and say something about the girl Natalie and the whole kissing situation, but I clamped my mouth shut, begging myself not to overshare. "It went well, I'm happy," I added, since I didn't want to be awkward.
"We'll be in costume tomorrow, so that'll take longer, but I'm sure we'll get it in a few takes."
"I know," I agreed. "I feel like it's really flowing."
We walked for a few seconds.
"When did you and your boyfriend break up?" he asked.
"A few weeks ago," I said.
I had imagined this exact conversation happening, and having it gave me a warm, nostalgic feeling. The sun was low in the sky, and the scenery was gorgeous, so that added to it.
"A few weeks ago?" Sam asked in an amazed tone that made me laugh.
"Yes. What?"
"You should have told us. Why'd you hold out so long? Do you not want to do the kissing scenes?"
"No, I don't mind doing it. I just didn't think it was important enough to change plans again. I thought Alex had worked it out, and I was just going to leave it alone."
"I'm glad you said something," he said. "It's going to be a lot better with you." He smirked at me. "And besides, I'd rather kiss you."
I didn't know what to say. I couldn’t think of anything good right away, so I hesitated, and then I was just quiet.
"I don't know why Alex didn't have us do it today," he said.
"I know, I was thinking the same thing. He had that other girl there, so that tells me he was planning on rehearsing it."
"Were you hoping he would?" he asked, grinning at me as we continued to walk.
I felt flustered by the flirting, and I stuttered. "W-was I what? Hoping what?"
"I don't know, I just thought you were disappointed."
"No."
"Oh, okay," he said.
"I mean, I just hope he gets what he wants tomorrow. I thought we'd run through it today, is all."
"Oh, my gosh, you want it to happen so bad. You want to kiss me, Trinity Banks," he said, teasing me. His voice was deep and perfect.
The conversation had me feeling swoony. My knees felt weak as I walked, and I slowed my pace a bit to compensate for my overactive heart rate.
"I do not. I mean, not personally. I'm happy we get to… I'm happy my character gets to… for Alex's sake, I'm glad for the series, or whatever."
"Oh, so, you're not the least bit excited to kiss me?" he asked, with that teasing smile.
"You mean me, personally?" I asked, stalling, feeling unable to lie.
"Yes, you, personally."
"Don't make it weird," I said, pushing at his shoulder again and squinting playfully at him.
He laughed. "You did seem jealous when I told you I kissed that other girl."
"No, I didn't. And don't say that," I said.
His blue eyes met mine, and my body was full of excitement and anticipation.
"Why not?" he said.
"Because we can't flirt in real life. Only our characters can."
"Why's that?"
I shrugged innocently, stalling again because I had no idea why I said that or what it meant.
"I'll get confused," I said. "Do you not get confused at all? I'm just trying to make sure I remember all the stuff I'm scripted to say to you."
He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Am I messing up your game?" he asked. "I can steer clear of you until tomorrow when I'm Tommy." He paused on the path like he might part ways with me, and I reached out to grab his arm.
"No," I said, letting go of him after only a second. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm not confused. I am trying to do good, though."
"You did amazing today. Completely natural."
"Thank you. You were really good, too. I think Alex was happy with it."
"I know." He paused for a minute and then added. "He's happy you're not using a stand-in."
"Yeah, I probably should have told him sooner."
"Where are we going?" he asked, seeing that I was going straight when he thought we would turn.
"I like going this way," I said. "It takes longer to get to the creek, but you get to walk through some trees. I like the woods. There's so much open space out here, it's nice to be in the trees for a minute."
Sam was walking a step behind me, and I turned to look at him.
His blue eyes sparkled. They were bright even though it was getting dark out.
This guy was physically irresistible. Sam was just one of those people you wanted to impress.
I stood up straight and sucked in my gut.
I was on my best behavior at first, but I relaxed a little by the time we made it to the creek.
It was dark by then, but it was a nice evening.
We walked around and talked for what I thought was about an hour before Sam got out his phone, and we found out that it had been two hours. Time had gone by quickly because we were having fun.
I knew that he was a musician. I had heard him talking to Ash and the other musicians, but it didn't register that he was serious enough about it to have played in a band in L.A.
I asked him tons of questions about music, and I got all swept away in imagining what it was like to see him perform live.
The band he had been a part of had to replace him since he had so much acting work lately.
Sam and I started walking back toward the trailers, but we moved slowly, neither of us in any hurry.
He led the way, and he took the long way back, through the woods.
I had no idea what was going on. I just knew I loved getting to know Sam.
He was a comforting person, which was odd to say about someone who was so physically perfect.
I couldn’t think of a single thing I'd change about Sam, inside or out.
I was considering that because I was looking at his hand as it rested casually at his side, and I was wishing I could hold it.
I didn't think I would ever stare at someone's hand and long to touch it, but that was how I felt with Sam Allison.
I walked next to him, wishing desperately that it was acceptable for me to reach out and touch him.
I was flirting with him, but deep down I knew I wasn't going to amount to anything.
I wasn't going to have a meaningless affair with him Sam, and I wasn't going to have a meaningful relationship with him, either.
Sure, I was attracted to Sam. Who wouldn't be?
But I had to keep things in perspective.
"Cameron was calling you Samuel," I said, since I hadn't mentioned it yet.
He nodded and smiled. "A lot of people call me that back home."
"It sounds so official," I said.
"Well, I am pretty official."
"Yeah, I guess you are, Samuel."
"Do you remember my middle name?" he asked.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"I'm not telling you, but I remember," I said.
"If you remember, then tell me."
"I do remember."
"Then say it."
"David. Samuel David Allison."
"You're right," he said, looking at me with an approving stare.
"I don't blame you for not remembering mine," I said.
"I do remember yours," Sam said.
"No, you don't.
"Yes, I do. All eight names."
"It's four," I said.
"It's Trinity Jane Lily Banks.
"Oh, my gosh, you seriously got it right. I can't believe you remembered that."
"You remembered mine," he said.
"Yeah, I guess I did."
We approached some trees, and I stared downward so that I could make my way over the roots without falling. The root system was not a tripping hazard at all, and I still used it as an excuse to reach out and touch him. I had used this trick before, but my circumstances were better this time.
I held onto his forearm for a second or two before letting go.
Sam was a little ahead of me, and he stopped walking abruptly, forcing me to run straight into him.
He was ready for the impact, and he turned and caught me, both of his hands on my arms. I gasped at the sudden change in momentum, and my gaze snapped up to meet his.
"Are you okay?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Yeah, are you?"
"Yeah, I just was holding onto you because of the roots."
"Oh, all the roots?" he asked, in a teasing tone.
"Yes," I said, looking down as if I was certain there was lots of uneven ground.
I met his gaze again, and he grinned, shaking his head a little like he was thinking something.
Sam Allison was a leading man, and he stared at me at that moment like I was the object of his affection.
He was big, and he had a light hold of my arms, looking down at me, scanning my face.
We stood there, in the darkness, behind trees, all alone.
"Aren't you scared in the woods?" he asked.
"No," I said. My voice came out lighter and more vulnerable than I intended.
We stood there and stared at each other for the next five seconds or so.
"I guess we should get back," he said, snapping me out of it as he broke away and started walking again.
"Yeah, we should save it for tomorrow."
"We should save what?" he asked, glancing at me. "What do you mean?" he urged.
"Nothing. I was just saying…" I trailed off, feeling nervous and on the spot.
"Did you think I was about to kiss you?"
"No," I said, maybe a little too quickly.
"Then what were you saying we should save till tomorrow?" he asked.
"Fine, I did think you were going to kiss me," I said. "You're relentless."
"If I were relentless, I would have kissed you just now."
"I wasn't talking about that," I said. "And I don't care if you kiss me."
There was not even a second's hesitation.
There was no hesitation at all. I said those words, "I don't care if you kiss me," and within a second, Sam turned and put his mouth on mine.
He did not need me to say it twice. His mouth was there, touching mine, before I knew what was happening.
It was so sudden that by the time I realized what was going on, he moved, and his lips were softening, and the kiss was changing.
My lips softened to match his, and when he went to pull gently away, I leaned toward him, kissing him again.
This was some kind of permission for him because he came back to me, his grasp more confident this time.
His hands came to the side of my face, holding me in place as he leaned me against a nearby tree.
He kissed my mouth several times, all slow, tender but firm kisses, one right after another.
His mouth was like paradise—it felt like home.
His lips were slightly open, and I could feel the hint of wetness there.
It was warm, and my whole body turned warm to match it.
Sam kissed me gently, what must have been eight or ten times, before he finally pulled back.
"Was that what you were talking about?" he asked. Taking a step back.
"I don't even know what I was saying. Was that rehearsing?"
"Yeah, of course it was rehearsing," he said. "For tomorrow."
He move to start walking again, and I followed him, going slowly along the edge of the woods.
"Okay, good, that's good. I'm glad we rehearsed. That felt good."
"It felt good?"
"I mean, for the role. I feel confident that it's going to go well tomorrow."
"Ohh, it felt good, as in it's going to go well tomorrow. I thought you meant good, as in you wanted it to happen again."
We laughed. He was joking, but I really did want it to happen again. And again and again. Sam had kissed me more than a few times just now, but I was greedy for more. I wanted him to do it twenty more times. I just played it off and continued to walk next to him, heading back to the trailers.