Chapter Four: Horror Movies and Bright Red Cheeks
Ella sat with her hands carefully placed in her lap. She tried to ignore the battered pieces of skin that hung around her cuticles. What? Doesn’t everyone bite their nails when their nervous? Maybe not to the point of blood - but it had happened before. She tried to keep the anxious feeling in her stomach alone to rot before it could make its way up to her throat and then her eyes. She was in a meeting with an executive of “Simple Life” magazine. They were doing features on fresh and new faces in the interior design world. Someone had given them her contact information and they had called her requesting an in-office interview. Ella fought with every thing she had not to get too excited or hopeful, that had happened too many times before and she wasn’t ready to let down herself or those around her. In all honesty, she hadn’t even told Nicola about her meeting. The girl was already so stressed out with her wedding, and Justin’s tour and everything else; that she didn’t need Ella’s interview stuck on her mind as well. But when the stern woman in front of her cut her eyes as if to say something highly profound, Ella wished she had someone’s hand to squeeze.
“I’m not sure if that’s the type of thing you’re looking for” Ella said, wringing the long sleeves of her jacket as she bit her lower lip in question.
“These are beautiful pieces, Ms. Tennyson and I am shocked to find that you’re so young”
The woman couldn’t have been over thirty and Ella didn’t understand what a few years difference could make. That had been a let down she had heard so many times, people telling her she was too young to fully develop her sense of design. Give it a few years. They just didn’t understand that she was tired of waiting.
“Well…I…um” Ella stuttered over her words for a few moments before she finally slumped her shoulders and plopped her elbows on the desk, “Mam, I’m sorry, I cannot tell you that I’m some experienced college graduate who has spent her entire life dwelling on success and all that stuff…I cant tell you that! Because I haven’t “ I’m twenty one and up until now I haven’t tried to take life too seriously, but even though I don’t have years of experience, I promise you that I have more passion in my little finger than what I’ve seen out of the top designers you feature in you’re magazine” Sitting up from where she had fallen out, Ella brought a hand to her mouth and groaned. The business lady had wide eyes - very wide eyes. And Ella immediately questioned her sanity. Once again “ she had spoken too soon…hopefully she could muster up a little charm to get her back into good graces.
“Um, Ms. Tennyson “ I appreciate the fact that you’re straightforward” the woman cleared her throat and frowned, “but I’m afraid that you’re…style…isn’t exactly fit for this magazine. We cater to an older array of people, and though you’re work is beautiful “ it’s not what we’re looking for”
Ella stopped her fidgeting and looked up, “Alright” she placed a smile on her face and despite the disappointment, was simply glad that the meeting was over.
“Thank you so much for you’re time “ and you’re honesty” she paused to give Ella a tight smile.
Ella gathered her thoughts and nodded, “no - thank you Ms…Mrs.…Ms…” Ella stumbled over her words and felt a blush spread across her cheeks. A sheepish grin was her only apology to the woman in front of her.
“Mrs. Delaney”
“Thank you Mrs. Delaney”
The woman nodded and ushered Ella outside of her office, “have a nice day”
Ella gave a small wave and walked down the remainder of the hallway with her shoulders slumped. Her day was suddenly taking a dark turn. If one could see auras, hers would be a dark gray. She had honestly thought that the interview was going to be a positive one. So much promise had been held in the voice that had called her, but Mrs. Delaney had crushed her hopes of actually getting her work published. Ella was seriously contemplating giving up design all together. You could only handle so many rejections. But the little girl inside of her just kept on waiting for the day when a door of opportunity would open up. She was tired of staring at doorknobs…it had to be the time to reach out and grab her dreams.
----------------------------------------------------
Two figures sat across from each other. One feminine and thin, shortened hair framing a round face, the other a masculine and muscular body “ upheld by an impeccable posture and table manners. The average eye would take in the couple and consider them a perfect picture to society. The beautiful young woman, the take charge man who had love in his eyes...but sometimes the general public was wrong.
“Clay…I know YOU don’t want to “ but this is MY career” Nicola set her champagne glass down and sighed. The late lunch with Clay had been a stressful one and for once, she understood why. A dancer on Justin’s tour had cancelled at the absolute LAST minute and left her stranded without someone to dance and it was entirely too late to teach someone else the steps. He was leaving in four days and it was just…impossible. The only solution they had come up with was to bring Nicola out on tour, even if only for enough time to find a replacement. The higher ranked choreographers had scolded Nicola for not training understudies, but her thoughts had been elsewhere during the entire process “ and now she was stuck.
“Nicola “ what part of “our wedding is in TWO months” do you not understand? You have to be here for this kind of preparation!” Clay argued. His dark eyebrows were brought together by the creases of his forehead and the solemn expression on his face was twitching with anger.
“That’s why I want to postpone it until the tour is over” she stated simply.
“Do you realize how much we would have to do?” he asked, “do you realize “ the invitations…the planners, the cake…every thing would be ruined”
“I’ve done it once, Clay. I can do it again” she argued, “I have a major superstar who is left without a dancer. The success of his tour could rest on my shoulders”
“Whatever, Nicola - that is a crock and you know it! You’re scared. You’re scared of commitment, of devoting yourself to ME, you’re scared that you’re independence is going to be taken away. You are SCARED “ the loss of ONE dancer is not going to make or break a tour. Believe it or not, those girls out there in the audience wont even glance in you’re direction”
Nicola rolled her eyes, “I knew you wouldn’t understand”
“You are BLAMING me, Nicola! You are asking me to POSTPONE my wedding that I have been waiting and waiting for…I thought you were excited, but ever since you got this job….you just…you’re barely the same person and part of me wonders if you’re doing all this just to get out of marrying me”
“You’re so dramatic, Clay”
“I’m not the one who wants to cut off our marriage and leave for three months “ think of how that looks to the guests and to my family…and to me, Nicola…to me” He cast his eyes on a dinner napkin and twiddled a fork in-between his thumb and pointer finger. Clay never twiddled anything.
The tone of his voice had fallen to a low and for the first time Nicola felt a sense of remorse. He rarely showed vulnerability, but he was showing it all the same and she contemplated her sanity when the words left her mouth, “I’m sorry Clay “ but I’m going”
----------------------------------------------------
“I’m going too” Ella stated, her hands on her hips as she stood stiff in the kitchen.
“Ella “ you can’t just…GO” Nicola said.
“What do I have to stay for?” Ella argued, throwing herself onto the counter with a thud, “my career is non existent, my job is practically down the drain “ all I have is YOU and you’re leaving…so…I’m going too”
“You can’t just pick up and leave”
“And you can?” Ella scoffed, “I’m better off to go on this tour than you are! You’re the one who has a wedding in two months”
“Five months” Nicola corrected, “Clay and I talked it out, you know…he stormed out of the restaurant for a few minutes and then came back in with an apology and a willingness to change the date”
“He loves you, Nic” Ella said with a smile, “though he is a self-righteous jerk…he loves you”
Nicola smiled, “I know he does…and I just…I’m so scared that I’m taking him for granted. But I have to do this for Justin”
Ella paused and stood upright, looking Nicola straight in the eyes, “Nicola “ tell me the truth. You could care less about Justin. This is about…independence”
“That’s what Clay said”
Ella snarled, “Yuck”
“And it’s probably true…but I’m going to do it all the same. I can always train while on the road…we’ll see…I know this is the coward’s way out. But I don’t care”
“Can I be a coward too?” Ella said with a smile, holding out her hand and nearly immediately feeling it held in Nicola’s, “please?”
Nicola groaned, “I’ll talk to Gavin”
“Oh! You will? Oh my gosh, Gav loves me! I’m definitely going” Ella said with a screech, “what do you pack for this sort of thing? Like “ I’ve never been on tour before. You have, when you did that ballet thing…did you like it?”
“Ella shut up…goodness…when you get excited all you want to do is talk”
Ella brought a hand to her mouth, “nuh-uh”
“I haven’t even talked to them yet…please just, calm down”
Doing an unknown - probably made up - yoga move, Ella strategically raised one leg up and bent her head down to touch her kneecap, “Calm, master Bridges. Calm”
Giggles erupted from the both of them and all that was left in the apartment was a room full of hopes and dreams…and some disappointments. Life was about to hit them square between the eyes…and all either of them could do was watch for the sun and prepare themselves for the ride that was awaiting the both of them.
----------------------------------------------------
Two Days Later
An array of people sat around a large round table. Some of them were laid back and carefree, others stiff and questioning. Each person sat in their designated seat and participated in the meeting they had been called to. It was a final meeting for Justin’s tour. There were still threads waiting to be rolled up into a ball of yarn, and it was up to these people to construct that event. So far, they had been successful in managing the loose ends. But there were still a few controversial situations lying in the air.
“She wants to bring who?” a man asked, his stature filled out by a business suit. A red tie was tied around his neck and it brought a sense of intimidation to his overall demeanor.
“Ella Tennyson “ her best friend” Gavin was stuck in the middle of the room and he was immediately regretting telling Nicola that he could arrange Ella a spot on the tour.
“Why?”
Gavin swallowed, “Um…because…she wants to”
“Absolutely not”
“Sir “ if you don’t mind me saying, Nicola is putting a lot of her life on the line doing this for us. The least we can do is give her friend a spot on this tour” he had decided to force the subject. Many people had stood up to the boss and been exalted because of it. Hopefully he would be one of those many.
“Is there anything she’s useful for? Believe it or not, we DO have a budget” he said, “and if she’s useless, why would I want another body coming along just for fun? It’s not like she’s someone of importance. Not a wife, or a sibling “ she’s a friend” the man, Mr. Thomas, was adamant in his decision and he was fully prepared to put his authority to good use.
“Mr. Thomas, please “ I’m sure we could find something for Ella to do” Gavin pressed, racking his brain for the girl’s talents. All he could think of was the complete disarray she possessed. He didn’t think that he could win her a spot on the tour with that description. Mr. Thomas looked up and stroked the clean shaven skin of his face. A serious contemplating look was in his eyes and for a moment the room thought that the two men had come to a peace.
“No”
“If I can interrupt” for the first time, another voice spoke up and the room immediately put their attention on a man, his eyes hidden by the bill of a baseball cap, “I recommend you let Ella Tennyson on this tour. No more questions asked” Justin Timberlake had been casually observing the argument, mainly to see what Gavin could muster up under heat. He was going to insist she be on the tour regardless of what Mr. Thomas had said. For one, it would be important to Nicola, and secondly, it would be interesting to see what kind of trouble she could muster up in a matter of three months on the road. The results would surely be some kind of hilarity.
----------------------------------------------------
Two Weeks Later
The shadow of a female figure was visible on the concrete cement and it was easily followed as the girl walked towards a metal door. The silvery exterior was shining brightly and it took a pair of oversized sunglasses to block both the gleam and the sunlight coming in from the skylights. Ella Tennyson peered over her shoulder and then around her sides. She was alone in some eerie hallway and every horror movie she had watched was flashing before her eyes. She could hear the screams coming from teenage girls outside the arena and they only added to the freakiness of the situation. Reaching out, she put her hand on the doorknob and wanted badly to open it, but the darkness behind it scared her even more and she contemplated turning around. It was another day of exploring at another large building, but this one was slightly scarier than the last seven had been, “May I live after opening this door” she mumbled, squinting up towards the sun before swinging the door open.
Unknown to her, a pair of eyes were watching every move she made. The man behind the other side of the metal door had laughter dancing in his eyes at the sheer terror on her face. He never would have thought this carefree girl could be so superstitious and cautious. But with her pupils unnervingly searching every crevice of the area, it was all he could not to back out of his plan. He was going to scare her when she came through the door simply by popping out of nowhere with a bright smile and cheery disposition. When the moment came that she had nerve enough to open the door, he jumped from his place against the wall and came face to face with a very terrorized young woman.
“AH!” Ella screamed loudly and immediately placed her hands over her eyes.
Justin buckled over in laughter and gripped his stomach, “You’re face! I wish you could see you’re face!”
“It’s DARK “ how can YOU, JUSTIN?” she removed her hand from her eyes and punched him playfully in the ribs and slumped down against the wall to the floor, “my heart is beating so fast! I should kill you right now and break a million hearts”
He fell along beside her and with a smile still on his face his head drooped to her shoulder as he chuckled, “Ella…that was freaking hilarious”
“Shut up, Justin! I was so scared “ once when I was little, I locked myself in the bathroom and turned off the light to see if the shower curtain glowed and it didn’t! And then I couldn’t find the switch again! It was horrible and I had that feeling…again” Ella said with a frustrated groan, “my heart needs to stop beating”
“That wouldn’t be good “ you might die”
“Huh?”
“You said you wish you’re heart would stop beating and I said that wouldn’t be a good thing because, well…you would die”
“Justin…you are so, so…literal” Ella said with a roll of her eyes, “you know EXACTLY what I mean”
“And you are the only one who ““he broke out into song and placed his hands over his chest dramatically, “knows exactly what I mean”
Ella gasped, “I LOVE that song! Have you met her?”
“Maria Mena?”
“Yes” Ella answered like he was dumb, “she’s much underrated for her talent”
“I met her at some awards show about a month ago I think” he said, “it was just a, “nice to meet you “ see you later” kind of thing”
“How disappointing” Ella said with a frown, “She seems like someone I could talk to. She reminds me of me. Except, I’m much more unique” Ella raised her head high and brought a snooty sound to her voice.
Justin raised his eyebrow, “that you definitely are”
“A little boy in second grade told me I was weird “ and from that point on, I have referred to myself as unique. It sounds so much more…more…enchanting, than weird! I mean weird “ that’s almost mean!”
Justin chuckled, “you called yourself a weird bird once”
“No “ I said that other people called me a weird bird!” she defended, “do you remember everything I say?” she finally questioned after a few moments of silence.
“I try not to” Justin said with a distant look in his eyes, “but you’re words haunt me”
Ella looked at him quizzically before watching his serious face take a goofy turn, “shut up!” she said with a laugh, “I almost took that as a compliment”
Justin smiled at her and let silence come between them for the first time. He tried to make the fact that he was watching her unnoticeable, so he tugged his hat down and let his eyes roam over her face. She clearly hadn’t brushed her hair and it was all he could do not to reach out and comb his fingers through the mass of tangled strands. The outfit she was wearing showed no signs of coordination and he questioned her eyesight as he noted how awfully the colors clashed. But somehow, and he didn’t know how, she managed to look eerily…cute.
“You look at me too much” Ella said bluntly.
To his dismay, Justin found his cheeks warming up. How could this girl have such an effect on him? “I wasn’t looking at you” he finally said and tried to use every technique imaginable to get his cheeks back to their normal color.
“You’re blushing” Ella said again with a gleam in her eyes, she knew she was making him antsy and it made her giddy thinking about it.
“No, it’s just hot in here”
“Shut UP!” she yelled, “that is the number ONE worst excuse for a blush!” she laughed, “and I’m flattered by the way, you know…that you find me worthy of looking at”
Justin pouted, “Stop making fun of me”
Ella took that as a chance to mimic him and then smiled, “I need to get going”
“Yeah, me too…I was back here looking for Gavin” Justin said, “and then I saw you sneaking around and decided you needed a joke played on you “ you were frowning you know, and I thought you never frowned”
“Even happy people have sad days” Ella said.
“Oh? And you’re having a sad day?” Justin asked, offering Ella his hand as she attempted to stand.
Ella paused and took Justin’s outreached hand “No…a melancholy day I think” she noticed the fact that he hadn’t let go of her fingers and all she could do was squirm under his gaze.
“Anything I can do to help?”
The flirtatious tone of his voice wasn’t missed and Ella swiftly took her hand from his grip and went to wipe her palm on her pants, “No, absolutely - nothing!”
Justin chuckled to himself as Ella practically scrambled away from his sight. He shook his head and kept on laughing. That girl was so easy to irk.
----------------------------------------------------
Ella climbed a set of steps and tried to rid her thoughts of Justin. She didn’t miss the charm he used on practically every girl alive, and she prided herself in the fact that she was immune to it. But she didn’t miss the way he looked at her, or the way that he would just be so dumbfounded with the way that she moved, or talked, or laughed “ and she had that effect on a lot of people…but she was never affected by the person she intrigued. And she was scared of even THINKING that something could flower from her and Justin’s playful friendship. Ella knew that Justin was perfectly happy with Maddie and she finally labeled herself silly for even flirting with the idea that Justin was interested in her.
Continuing to walk along a hallway in complete intense thought, Ella turned a corner and collided with a rock hard body, “ow” she muttered, grabbing her elbow and rubbing it with swift hands. The man she had ran into didn’t look the least bit affected and she looked up into a pair of green eyes and smiled, “that’s one rock hard chest you have there” she said with a chuckle, not embarrassed by her words.
“I wish I could say the same “ but you look like a pencil”
Ella’s mouth gaped open and she finally giggled, “I get that a lot “ but I much prefer a pixie stick “ much more bright and cheerful”
“I haven’t had one of those things in ages” the man said, eyeing Ella as he spoke, “although “ I think even a pixie stick would be dressed better than you are”
Honesty - she liked it.
Ella smiled, “this is so the beginning of a great relationship”
“Excuse me?”
“You told me my outfit was ugly “ that takes guts and I appreciate it”
“It doesn’t take guts!” he exclaimed, “It takes a friend”
Ella laughed again, “my names Ella…nice to meet you…?”
“Cole”
“Nice to meet you, Cole…” Ella looked around for a moment and then let her eyes graze back over him. He had dark hair; it was long, wavy and very unruly. A pair of black framed glasses was placed over his eyes and she applauded his choice of an oxford and tie with straight legged jeans. He was unique. Like her.
“What exactly do you do on this pop haven tour?” he said with a sheepish grin, as if he was embarrassed to even be associated with such a thing.
“My best friend choreographed it” Ella answered, “I came along for the “ experience? What do you do on this…tour?”
“Definitely an experience” he said, “I manage one of the opening acts”
“Oh…” Ella picked at the cuff of her sleeve and contemplated asking him the next question. She decided to ask it, honesty was the best policy after all! “You don’t exactly look like the muscular type, I mean…no offense, but, people with a punk label are usually…well, I don’t know! Punky”
“What makes you think I have a hard body?”
“I’m going to have a bruise the size of Montana on my arm “ you have a hard body”
“I’m a “punky” guy who likes to lift weights “ gotta problem with it?” he teased. Pausing to survey the damage he had done, Cole frowned, “Sorry about that by the way”
Ella widened her eyes and touched the skin that he was pointing to, “oh don’t worry about it, I fall all the time “ I would have ended up with a bruise at the end of the day anyway, you just gave me one first!”
Cole chuckled, “well, I hope I can make it up to you some time” he was going to say something else, but was interrupted by his pager going off through the empty hallway, “I have to go! Nice meeting you, Ella…hope to see you again sometime, just lingering around with absolutely NOTHING to do!”
Ella gasped, “Nothing? I didn’t say I did NOTHING!” she said with a wide grin and began nodding her head, “I’m the water girl”
Cole looked up from his pager and raised an eyebrow, “Huh?”
----------------------------------------------------
“WATER! I HAVE WATER, DOES ANYONE WANT WATER? WAT ““
“Ella, SHUT UP” Nicola said with a groan, “If they want water, they will come and get it. You are driving me NUTS”
“Gavin told me to scream that I had water, otherwise people would go somewhere else looking for it “ WATER!”
Nicola banged her head against the wall, “I am going to kill you”
“Huh, what was that? Did you say you wanted WATER?” Ella leaned in closer to Nicola before screaming the last word and laughed heartily when Nicola jumped an then turned to give Ella a dagger like look.
“Justin, I’m going to murder her” Nicola muttered as Justin came by to survey the commotion.
“I can hear you screaming all the way from my dressing room” he said with good humor, “and I thought to myself, “Wow Justin! You’re thirsty” so I just had to come and get WATER” he screamed at Ella and watched her boredom unfold.
“I do it so much better than you do” she said plainly and shook her head, “so don’t try…” leaning towards him, Ella grabbed a bottle from the cooler and placed it slowly on the back of his neck, “here’s you’re WATER”
Justin jumped and Ella buckled over in laughter as he grabbed the bottle from her hands and started to unscrew the cap, “huh “ WATER- WATER?”
Ella screeched and started running from him, going somewhat slowly due to the laughter that kept coming from her mouth, “STOP!” she gasped, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous troublemaking quality. Ella finally stopped running in circles and stared at him straight in the face, “if you pour water on me “ I will…hurt you”
“Ooo, I’m scared, Ella “ I mean, you might be able to beat up my little brother if you TRIED” Justin said, his face showing no signs of letting her off the hook.
“Justin” she started to whine and drew closer to him, outstretching one of her arms, keeping the other close to her side, “Juuuusttttin” she inched herself closer and hid her excitement when she was finally face to face with him, “Justin?”
He swallowed and nodded, “what?”
“WATER!” Ella then took her free arm and splashed an entire bottle of water in his face. Before she could even catch his reaction, she went running and didn’t stop until his angry screams faded. She finally leaned back against a wall and giggled to herself thinking of the complete unsuspecting look on his face, he had NO idea whatsoever that she was getting ready to cream him. Good thing he wasn’t going to perform for another hour and a half, he would have plenty of time to primp again.
A shadow lingering in the doorway of the room she had found herself in scared Ella to death and she immediately froze in her position. What was with all the…the…freakiness? She hadn’t been looking where she was running towards and now here she was with a very athletic figured body staring her down, watching her and it was dark. And she was scared - officially scared. She knew that he had seen her, so Ella figured her best bet was to talk, “Um…hey” There was no answer coming back to her and she sheepishly chuckled, “hello?” A faint whisper haunted her and the person whom she realized was in front of her was definitely the last person she wanted to see. A scream escaped her lips and she started laughing to try and escape the wrath of a wet body, “NO!” she screamed as it neared her, “Please, don’t do it! Don’t!”
Justin started laughing and with a simple swish of his arms, immediately the once dry, sweet, innocent looking Ella Tennyson was turned into a river rat. Her bangs were dripping with ice cold water, tee shirt clinging a whole lot more tightly than it had been before, pants turning a dark blue. Her facial expression was priceless and it was all he could do not to completely lose it, “you know “ you kind of did need a shower” he stated.
Ella gritted her teeth and gave him a look, “you are so dead “ just wait! You just wait!”
“You deserved that more than I did!” Justin said snobbishly, “Gavin is going to kill both of us”
Rolling her eyes, Ella smiled sweetly, “Oh please Justin…you’re going to be dead a long time before Gavin even SEES you again!”
“Contrary to you’re beliefs” Justin said, his short curls dripping with beads of water, “I am NOT scared of you”
“Maybe not now…” Ella said with a grin, “but watch you’re back Justin “ because payback is a bitch”
“I’m used to dealing with bitches, so that shouldn’t be a problem” he said with raised eyebrows.
“Are you implying that I’m…a-“
“No, not at all…” Justin said innocently, “you’re an angel, Ella…a perfect angel”
She looked at him and paused, “well “ now that you mention it…I suppose I am”
He shoved her arm and stopped his smile when she grimaced, “what the matter with you’re arm?” grabbing it from where she had gripped it, he frowned at the bruise, “that’s a big bruise you’ve got there”
Ella laughed, “He had a hard body”
“What?” Justin squeaked.
Ella smiled, “oh! I wanted to say that all day” she said, “it sounds so dirty! But “ “she paused, “its not”
“Oh?”
Judging by the look on his face, Ella could tell Justin wanted a further explanation and she had to commend him for being such a gentleman. “I ran into some guy in the hall today and seeing that he was even more muscular than YOU, his elbow ran into my arm and I just, well, I bruise easy”
Justin nodded, “Oh…okay “ and more muscular than ME? Impossible!” he said, flexing his biceps and smiling cheekily.
The wetness of his tee shirt only defined his arms and Ella rolled her eyes at his cockiness, “you are so full of yourself”
“Why do you always say that?” Justin asked, “I’m not full of myself!”
“Yes you are, Justin! I bet I haven’t had one conversation with you were you haven’t proclaimed you’re greatness”
“Why do you always critique me?”
“Why do you always make it so easy?”
They looked at each other for a few seconds before they both burst into laughter, “sorry” Justin said, still wiping at his eyes, “I just enjoy arguing with you”
“You’re such the controversial person, Justin” Ella said sarcastically, biting her tongue when he looked at her with peaceful eyes, “sorry “ this is another friendly moment again isn’t it?”
“Well, just how friendly do you want to get, Ella? I mean, you’re already standing here dripping wet in my slightly DARK dressing room”
Ella choked, “this is YOU’RE dressing room?”
“Just like home, huh…?” Justin said with a smile, turning around to flip the switch, “such life is displayed on the walls”
Ella looked at the bare white walls and scarcely decorated tables. There was one vase of flowers and his duffel bag had been picked clean of all of its items and they were lying not so strategically across the floor in an assortment of piles, “yeah…” she trailed off, “so this is road life?”
“It is for me…sometimes it’s nice…sometimes, its not”
She nodded her understanding, “I know what you mean “ Nicola, had a love hate relationship with touring” Ella paused, “I think I like it” she said, “I have no one to go home to when I’m in New York, so I mean, its not like I don’t miss anyone anymore than I do when I’m there”
“You’re close with you’re family?”
“Yeah” Ella said with a distant smile, “I think I could be closer…but, I have a great relationship with my parents…which is more than a lot of people can say”
Justin nodded, “I’m really close to my mom. I can officially say that she’s my best friend”
Ella smiled, “that’s awesome…some guys are so full of male testosterone that they leave their families hanging out to dry”
“Not me” he puffed out his chest and started to say something, but stopped, “I’ll keep that egotistical comment to myself”
Ella laughed and playfully nudged him in the side, “thank you”
When silence came over the both of them, an awkward silence, Ella started towards the doorway and waved at him, “I’ll let you change…you have to be on stage in a few minutes…” she muttered, this time finding herself flustered while Justin watched with amusement.
“Were we getting too close, Ella? Our wet bodies touching?” he teased, watching in complete contentment at her rosy cheeks. He wasn’t the only one who blushed! As she started to turn around, Justin called her name and watched her lanky figure turn around to face him. The pink was still on her cheeks and it was all he could do to refrain from telling her how cute she looked, all sheepish and embarrassed.
“What?” Ella groaned, appearing at the doorway and leaning against the frame to wait for what he had to say. She bit her lip and scrunched her eyes, bracing herself for the comment that would follow. After a few moments of silence, Ella lost her patience, “WHAT?” she demanded.
Justin smiled sweetly, “it’s nice to know that I have the ability to make you blush” He chuckled to himself as Ella disappeared from his sight, the hilarious image of her bright red cheeks firmly planted in his thoughts. He shook his head, though it was very discomforting, something deep down in the bottom of his gut told him that the image of her, cherry cheeked and smiling, would stay embedded in his mind for quite awhile.
Number of reviews: 78
Print:
Chapter or Story