"Come in." Hunter smiled at me. It was a smile that unfortunately jellified my legs even further. Damn hormones. He stepped back and swept his hand in a welcoming gesture.
I shook my head and tried to subdue my stereotypically girly behaviour. I was going to get some work done. I would not spend the entire afternoon staring at his mesmerising eyes or his perfectly styled hair or his flawlessly toned abdominal and pectoral muscles through his tight t-shirt or his... Wait, what was I saying?
Oh yes, I remember. I must not let Hunter's infatuating presence distract me from my goal of rehearsing for this important call-back.
Though I may reward myself with a few stares here and there...
As I walked into the apartment, I tried to give off an air of comfortableness. I didn't want Hunter to think something was wrong with me — when all I was doing was thinking about how perfect he was. I was an actor. A good one at that. I could do this.
"Take a seat." Hunter grinned at me. I obeyed and plopped myself down on the sofa. "You want some water, yeah?"
"Yes, please." I nodded.
Hunter fetched some bottled water from the fridge and threw it at me. He congratulated me when I expertly caught it before he came and sat down on one of the sofas across from me. He unscrewed the cap and took a sip.
"So, first things first," Hunter started as he tightened the lid on the bottled water. It made the muscles in his arms flex attractively. Focus, Talia. "Before we get distracted by all this singing, I was thinking we could discuss our little outing." Hunter chuckled, appearing quite nervous.
It seemed that Hunter was reluctant to say the word 'date' too. It was either because he didn't see it as a date, and he didn't want to lead me on. Or he didn't want to say it was a date in case I didn't feel the same way about it.
Ugh. Boys confused me sometimes. I wouldn't understand their species for as long as I lived.
"Yeah, okay." I smiled at him, letting Hunter take the lead. I hoped he had a good idea of where to go, because I didn't have the faintest clue. "Have you got any ideas?"
"Well, I did think of something. Feel free to say no if you don't want to, but there's a new fair type thing opening near the coast. It's like half an hour away on the tube or something like that." Hunter proposed, looking nervous to see my reaction. "I mean, I thought it would be fun. Because I haven't been sight-seeing since I arrived back in London. But if you don't want to do that, then it's perfectly fine."
Hunter wasn't speaking as clearly and eloquently as he usually did. Thus, proving that he was nervous. It was strange seeing Hunter uneasy. He always gave off the impression that he was always calm. And sometimes that calmness was translated (mainly by me) into arrogance. But I'd never seen him this nervous.
He couldn't be nervous because of me, could he? Of course not! Well, whatever the reason, it was cute to see.
Oh, and there goes those damn hormones again.
"No, it's fine." I smiled at him, trying to calm him down. "I've not been out and had a simple day out for ages. It's about time I had some fun, instead of stressing about my career all the time. I would love to go to this funfair."
"Really?" Hunter seemed surprised that I took him up on the offer. Again, his relief was another cute thing to witness.
"Really."
"Great!" Hunter quipped. "I was thinking we could go in a couple of days; you know; leave a few days for you to prepare for your call-back."
"Yeah, that'll be awesome," I replied, smiling at him. "Wow, you've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"
A blush crept over Hunter's cheeks, and he looked down at his hands. I regretted asking that question straight away. I didn't want to embarrass him. Hunter spoke up when I was about to apologise for asking such a stupid question.
"Well, I wanted us to have a good time," Hunter mumbled, clearly still a little abashed, but he was working hard to cover it up.
"Don't worry." I smiled, trying to reassure him. It was sort of comforting to see Hunter as nervous as I was. "I'm sure it will be perfect."
Hunter finally raised his head, and he looked at me with those beautiful, piercing blue eyes.
"You know," he mused. "There's something about you, Talia. You seem to know exactly what to say to make everything better."
It was my turn to blush, and I tried to deflect the attention away from me. I still wasn't used to Hunter giving me compliments so freely. It made me so confused about where we stood. He would look at me sometimes and it made me wonder whether he reciprocated the feelings I felt for him.
But I would turn that thought away as soon as it popped into my head. Hunter could have any girl he wanted, so why would he want someone like me? I knew I wouldn't be able to hold a relationship together because I didn't know the first thing about romance. My acting was believable when I performed, but I was the complete opposite in real life. I had no idea what to say or what to do in those types of situations.
I only hoped that in a few days, Hunter and I would both know where we stood with each other. A concept that both excited and unnerved me at the same time.
We got to singing soon after that. I didn't want Hunter's scrutinising eyes on me for much longer, in fear I'd turn into a puddle on the floor.
I picked a solo song for my audition much quicker than last time, which pleased me to no end. I rehearsed it a few times, with Hunter giving me some particularly useful tips. We both worked together to make my performance the best it could be. I wanted to stand out and seriously impress the audition panel.
After a quick break and snack — which consisted of fruit and water — we cracked on with rehearsing the duet. I was quite excited to sing with Hunter again because I liked the way our voices blended last time. And that was when I couldn't stand the sight of him. So now that we knew each other quite well and the way we worked, it should make our voices sound even better together.
We made some small talk whilst we were eating, about random things, and we ended up laughing over nothing.
"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you," Hunter told me after taking a sip of water. "I'm expecting a call from my agent today. I don't know when, but it will probably be when you're here. It did seem kind of urgent, but I could always ask him to call me back later."
"Don't be silly." I smiled. "You're not rejecting a call from your agent because of me. If it seems urgent, it probably is."
"Okay then. I was only letting you know."
We ate the rest of the food in near silence, only making small talk on the odd occasion. But the silence was comfortable and easy. It was as if we were enjoying each other's company and we didn't need to fill the silence with pointless chatter.
It was nice.
I was being the perfect house guest and helped where I could, offering to sort the dishes out. Once the dishes were all washed and put away, Hunter went in search of the sheet music for Come What May. This was so that I could practise my bit and work on my harmonies.
Like me, Hunter had a massive folder full to the brim with his repertoire. Though his folder was in a much better condition than mine. I enjoyed looking through the sheet-music, to see what songs he liked to sing.
"Ah! Here it is!" Hunter called, triumphant, as he pulled out a piece of paper from his holder. He turned it around and sure enough, the words COME WHAT MAY were emblazoned on the top of the paper. "You know, I got this sheet-music a few years ago as a spur of the moment, never performed it. I thought it might come in handy someday."
I grinned at his little anecdote. "And hey, it's a good job you did get the sheet-music. Because I wouldn't have been able to practise the song. And then I definitely wouldn't get the role and it would have been all your fault."
Hunter chuckled at my exaggerated tone and shook his head. He then winked at me. "Maybe it's fate."
"Maybe it's just good luck." I laughed as I got up off the sofa. I tapped Hunter on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get practising."
"Yes, ma'am." He mock-saluted me and got up. He then made his way to his piano and sat down on the stool. I followed him and placed my hands on the black shiny surface. "Do you know the song well?"
"A little bit." I shrugged. "I mean, I listened to it a few times, especially since I found out about the audition. But I don't know it like the back of my hand yet."
"Okay, that's no problem. Why don't you sit down next to me?" He suggested, patting the stool next to him. I obliged and slid onto the stool. It was long enough for us both to be comfortable, but our shoulders were still touching. "Do you read sheet music?"
"Only a little," I admitted.
"Well, that's a start." Hunter grinned down at me. If this were a few weeks ago, I would've expected a snarky comment about my lack of skills. But now, I knew he would accept it.
I didn't realise how close we were until that moment. Because of Hunter's height and our proximity, I had to stretch my neck so that I could look into his eyes. He was at least a head taller than me. Not that I was complaining.
Our bodies were so close, and I felt an immense heat on the side that was closest to Hunter. I didn't know what he thought of this situation, but he wasn't moving away from me. Which was a good thing... I think.
We both seemed to snap out of the moment at the same time. I turned my body away from Hunter and looked at the sheet music. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter shake his head as if he were attempting to clear his thoughts.
"Right," Hunter said, grabbing my attention once more. He held his hands over the keys of the piano, poised and ready to play. "Why don't I start playing and we just go for it? Then we can see what areas need help."
"Sounds like a plan," I said. My voice didn't come out as hoarse as I thought it would, which was a bonus.
Hunter nodded and glanced at the sheet music. His hands then skilfully danced over the keys. The melody of one of the most beautiful songs in the world flew out of the piano and resonated around the room. Hunter was the one to start the song, so I waited for him to open his mouth and for his amazing voice to flow out.
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Hunter's voice was still as captivating and amazing as it was the first time I had heard it. Though when I first met him, I was reluctant to admit that I thought his voice was practically perfect. I feared that his abnormally colossal head would grow even larger.
He continued singing and began to sing the first chorus. Again, his singing mesmerised me. So much so that I almost missed my cue to sing. I wasn't even nervous to sing this time, considering I had sung with and in front of Hunter so many times before. If Hunter sat on a casting panel, my nerves would be completely different, however.
I opened my mouth and began to sing:
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
And it all revolves around you
Hunter joined in with the next verse and we harmonised perfectly. We bounced off each other as if we had been singing together for years. I was still a little unsure of the harmonies. But I could read sheet-music well enough to see when I needed to sing higher and when I needed to sing lower.
After the next verse, Hunter and I transformed seamlessly into the chorus and we sang that in unison. Because the song was quite high for both singers, performers tended to belt that part of the song. But they usually had a full orchestra to accompany them. Because we only had the piano, it turned into a softer, more acoustic version of the song. It was a perfect version, if I did say so myself.
We both sang the last line together, and I didn't even realise it, but we had both turned our bodies towards each other. I wasn't even looking at the sheet-music and Hunter wasn't looking at the keys as he played the final notes. Though he still played perfectly in tune.
I was staring at Hunter, and he was staring right back at me. Although I hated to admit it; Ashley was right. She mentioned that Hunter and I singing together would cause even more chemistry. And I couldn't even deny the sparks that were flying about the place. Hunter and I didn't seem to care about what was going on around us. We were both focused on each other and nothing could tear that focus away.
Hunter brought his tentative hands up and they both cupped my still face. I sat paralysed, and I had no idea what to do. I had never been in a situation like this before, so I didn't know how to respond to Hunter's actions.
"I have to do this," Hunter whispered. It was difficult to tell whether or not Hunter meant for me to hear it. It wasn't like I could reply or anything. I was still rooted to the spot and I couldn't even think about moving.
I hadn't even blinked for what felt like three minutes.
Before I could understand what was happening, Hunter moved so his face was closer to mine. I didn't even realise that I had done it, but my own face was inching closer and closer to Hunter's.
Our foreheads were touching, and it was only a matter of seconds before our lips finally touched. I know I had sworn off boys and love. But I couldn't deny the intense feeling bubbling up inside me as I thought of Hunter's lips on mine.
I wanted Hunter to kiss me.
Our lips were an inch away from each other when a piercing shriek from someone's phone ruined the moment. We both backed away from each other. I couldn't help but feel disappointment wash over me at the missed opportunity.
Hunter looked apologetically at me as he fished his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID. He chuckled a little cynically. "It's my agent."
"Oh," I breathed. I then found my composure and stood up from the stool. "I had better be going, anyway. It's getting late."
"Are you sure?" Hunter asked, standing up too so that he was towering over me. "I'm sure this won't take too long."
"Yeah, it seems important. So, stop talking to me and answer your bloody phone." I chuckled and hit him on the arm.
"Okay, I'll call you." He bent down and placed a quick kiss on my cheek. I slipped away from the stool and walked towards the front door. "Hello?" I heard Hunter say into the receiver. I turned around and threw a quick wave to Hunter — which he returned — before walking out of the door.
I walked to my door and pushed it open — thankfully; it was unlocked. I closed the door behind me and leant on it, closing my eyes for a few moments. This was an attempt to rationalise my very erratic thoughts.
"What's up?" I heard Ashley ask from her spot on the sofa.
I chuckled, though humour was the last thing I felt. "It almost happened... Again."
I wasn't too sure whether Ashley understood what I was saying, but she was up off the couch. She walked up to me and grabbed my hands before dragging me to the armchair. She plonked me down on it before sitting back down next to Michael. I noticed he had been quiet throughout this entire ordeal.
Ashley looked at me and clasped her hands on her lap, before looking me in the eyes. "Okay, tell me everything."
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Muwahahahaha, I'm so evil.
The song on the side is Come What May from Moulin Rouge (the song that Talia and Hunter sang) it's one of my favourite songs, it's just so beautiful.
Hope you enjoy!
Until next time my lovlies!
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