What You Don't Know (Sequel to "Secret Love")(Hunter Hayes/James Marsden)

Too Close

"What about you? How are things?"

"Oh, you know. I'm working, and the dogs are still doing well. I ran into some old friends of Matt's yesterday, which was a little rough."

He nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm here if you ever need a friend, Amanda. I hope you know that."

Another moment passed in silence before Amanda drew in a quivering breath and replied.

"She didn't even tell me she was leaving, you know."

He leaned his head against the wall and slumped his shoulders. This was such a mess.

"I'm sorry, Amanda." He had nothing else to say.

She nodded, and blinked a few times. "It's okay. Listen, I'm going to go, but if you need anything, just call. I know things are a little awkward between us still, and I know it's my fault, but I will really try to be here for you, okay? We're both mourning over the same woman, after all."

They chuckled a little at her obvious joke, but quickly said their goodbyes.

Hunter shoved his phone back in his pocket and grabbed his guitar, stifling the ever-present urge to call his favorite woman.

'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

She was far too close to him. He reeked of cigar smoke and peanuts, which he was eating by the handful from a gallon-sized container in his lap. Salt covered his hideous purple pants and lay scattered over his ample stomach in a grainy layer. She took in another deep breath through her mouth, and could nearly taste the revolting stench.

Bethany pinched the bridge of her nose and peered down at yet another performer's portfolio. Since six o'clock this morning, they had been auditioning actors for various roles. It was nearly nine o'clock at night now, and her focus was anywhere but the stage.

Hunter would be on stage, too, right about now, with thousands of people in front of him, instead of the measly twenty or so who were a part of the casting process here. She wondered if Karina was doing her job well, if Ned and the guys liked her replacement as much as they had liked her.

If there was one thing she regretted almost as much as having to leave Hunter, it was the utter lack of information with which she had left Amanda. It had just seemed too difficult to lie to her best friend. Amanda was so perceptive, and nothing Bethany could tell her would be believed. Amanda had a way of reading her, and she simply could not imagine telling Amanda, who knew all of the gory details of her involvement with Trenton, that she was back in his reach, back in the kind of danger Bethany had assured her was no longer an issue. She had already broken the law by telling Hunter; she could not bring herself to do it again. There was, unfortunately, still a part of her that was reluctant to trust her.  

She should have at least tried. She would have a lot of groveling to do when she returned to Nashville. She only hoped that Amanda would be forgiving.

"Thank you. That is enough." Trenton's voice broke the silence, and the woman on stage cut herself off mid-sentence and bowed. Trent waved his hand dismissively, while the casting director spoke to her.

"How many more actors do we have to see today?" Bethany whispered in an aside to Trenton, who merely shrugged. She rolled her eyes. Never had she ever met a man so taciturn. This was the man meant to be a criminal? This was the man she was to charm into spilling his deepest secrets?

Impossible.

At around midnight, they finally called the auditions off for the day. Of course, there were four more long, hard days of auditions to grumble through, about which Bethany was certain nobody was excited.

Bethany knew that she should probably follow Trenton back to his study, but she was simply too exhausted to pretend interest in him tonight. In fact, she was not entirely sure that she could ever fake an interest in Trenton McDermott. He was simply too...well, he was who he was, and she hated him.

Lucky for her, Trenton seemed too preoccupied with speaking to the casting director to notice when she left the massive auditorium, intent on returning to her hotel room down the street. The air outside was slightly chilled, due to a rainstorm that lingered over their heads. She wrapped her arms around themselves, her light summer clothes insufficient for the unexpected inclement weather.

She felt her engagement ring bumping against her chest, and smiled. She pulled it out and slipped it onto her finger, gazing down at it lovingly. Even in the dark, it seemed to glitter.

She sighed, taking it off and putting it back around her neck. She knew she would have to leave it at the hotel, or in the bottom of her purse, where Trenton would not see it, but it was her only connection to Hunter, and having it so close to her heart reminded her that he loved her.

When she finally entered her hotel room, she tore off her clothes and jumped in the shower, Trenton's face poisoning her thoughts.

She mentally cataloged everything she knew about him. He was straightforward. He did not mince words or utter useless syllables. He never gave a task too much or too little importance, and had never given another man an assignment that he could see to himself. He was abrupt: the kind of man who cared very little what anyone else wanted, as long as he got the job done the way he wanted it done. He was not necessarily an angry man; it was more that he just lacked cheerfulness. He hardly ever smiled, but she had never heard him shout, either.

Knowing how completely opposite Trenton was from herself, she could not imagine what had possibly attracted him to her, if Jeremy Willakers was to be believed. If he was correct, and Trenton had, indeed, felt some mystical, confusing connection to her, why should she assume it still existed? She had been gone for nearly two years, and their last encounter had not been pleasant. Trenton was a proud man; how was she to believe that he would still be interested in her when she had so rudely rejected him? Forget that he had made improper advances, that he had tried to commit an act that would have been highly illegal had he succeeded. Trenton would never look at it from that perspective. He would only think of himself, and hate that he had not been successful in getting what he had so thoughtlessly pursued.

Maybe Jeremy was right. Maybe she would have to use herself as bait. Play with his emotions, make him believe he had a chance with her. It could work, but she had no idea if she could do it. She had never attempted anything like it before. For goodness' sake, Hunter was the only man she had ever kissed!

She slapped her hands over her face and groaned.

She rolled over on her side, desperate for the feeling of Hunter's warm chest behind her. She needed to talk to him; he would be able to help her figure out a course of action. Or, better yet, he would hold her and force the FBI to reconsider, to let her go home, to put Trenton away without evidence.

A single tear slipped onto her pillow, but she stubbornly refused to let the others fall. She forced herself to sleep, deciding that she would take the situation one step at a time.

How hard could it be?