Old ends new beginnings

Chapter 2

The next day, Holly was taking some photos while the actors were filming a particularly dangerous scene.

She was a little worried for Vin, he almost never used a double, and sometimes he was hurt.

In Prague, during XXX shooting he got hurt almost everywhere.

A man gave Riddik a blow on his face, and then the director called for a break.

“I think that Miss Harris will hate me now!”

Vin looked at her, she seemed really disappointed and a little worried.

He walked toward her, but he couldn’t avoid thinking that Brolin had taken her away from him.

“Did he hurt you?” Holly asked, gently brushing his cheek.

“I’m fine” he smiled, revealing in the sweetness of her touch.

Without thinking, he took hold of her hand on his face, and entwined his fingers with hers.

“Where you worried for me?”

“Yes …” she admitted, avoiding his eyes.

Shit…

The sunlight on her face made her skin creamy and her eyes were so bright that they seemed grey.

And she was worried for me!

“Holly, I must know something” he told her, waiting until she had nodded, and then he continued.

“There’s something between you and Brolin?”

The girl seemed a little confused.

Was he jealous? No, it couldn’t be.

Maybe it was just his big ego, he was too sure of his charm and he couldn’t bear to think that Josh was better than him.

“No. We’re just friends, that’s all”

He knew that his face was showing great relief, but he couldn’t help but smile at that revelation.

Why I’m so relieved?

“I’m going to have a shower. Would you like to come with me?” he grinned wickedly, knowing that she would refuse.

“Oh, Vinnie!”

She was exasperated.

“You’ll never change!”

And with that she was gone, so he went to have his shower into his trailer.

Why I’m so happy?

He continued to ask himself the same question but it seemed that there wasn’t an answer, yet.

Holly was sitting on a chair, examining her digital camera, checking for her photos and trying to decide which one she could send to the editor, when she saw that Josh was approaching her.

It was just then that she realized that it was his chair, so she immediately stood up.

“I’m sorry, you must be tired, sit down”

"Oh no, don't worry." Josh replied, gesturing for her to sit again. He glanced at his surroundings, and when he spotted a vacant seat he reached for it and placed it next to Holly's, sitting down. "So.." he began, looking at her with a plainly amused look in the depths of his hazelnut eyes. "Did it work?"

“What?” She asked with the most innocent look, smiling back at him.

"I think you know" he replied, grinning, and leaned closer to her. "So did it?"

“I wasn’t doing it just for him. I did it because it felt good to stay with you. We’re friends…” she explained, recalling the way she felt the day before, and how Vin had looked at her.

She wasn’t sure but in his eyes there was something that could be hurt, longing and…

“And if you want to know, he just asked me to have a shower with him. Typical Vin”

Josh chuckled, and shook his head. "He's hopeless. I'll try to teach him some manners sooner or later, but.." he stopped and looked around cautiously, leaning even closer to her. "You must do me a favour. And swear to God that you won't tell her anything."

“Does this favour has something to do with this?” she grinned, showing him the digital photo she had took the evening before, in which Josh was smiling to Eileen.

"You're way too perceptive for my taste" he sniggered, "Is it really that obvious? I don't think I've ever mentioned her to you.."

“I can see it in your eyes” she smiled back.

“But I haven’t spoken with her about you. I just understand when a couple is in love.”

"I'm not in love!" he protested, "I just like her. A lot. Anyway here's the deal. If she ever tells you something about me, you will report it to me. I'd do the same with Vin in return, if you agree."

“I think it would be weird if Vin talks to you, but I accept the deal!” she smiled at him, nodding solemnly.

“So what are you planning to do this evening?”

"I don't know" he replied, shrugging. "I'll probably just study my part and have a drink at the bar. Nothing exciting. What are your plans for the night, instead?"

“To stay on my bed and listen to some good music, maybe. There’s not so much to do here” she said, sighing deeply.

Josh nodded and remained silent for a while, as if deep in thought. Then he turned to look at her, and flashed her a wicked grin that foretold nothing good.

"We could go out" he proposed, "The four of us. Can you two play 'happy couple' just for a night?"

“I don’t know if Vin would be able to take his hands away from me, but… Ok, mate, I’ll tell that to Eileen, and maybe you’ll be able to speak to Vin so you’ll finally be friends” she nodded, with a wicked smile.

"It's a deal." Josh smiled back, getting on his feet, and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later then."

He walked away, and greeted Eileen with a nod when he met her along the way. She merely sighed and took her seat next to Holly, while attentively reviewing their schedule. "Bean will arrive tomorrow. You'll have to take some pictures as I ask him a few questions. Is it okay?"

“Ok” she nodded, glancing at their schedule.

“What do you think about that picture?” Holly asked a few minutes later.

She showed her the picture in which Josh was worshipping Eileen with his eyes, and tried to seem as indifferent as possible.

Eileen glanced at the photo just for a second, and quickly turned her attentions back to the schedule file. "Good shot." she mumbled, doing her best to keep a disinterested face, without looking at her. "He's quite photogenic, isn't he?"

“Just…photogenic?” she asked back, trying to hide the smile on her face.

She was sure that Eileen was quite interested in Josh, and he liked her a lot.

Those two had to try to go out alone.

"No.." sighed Eileen, daring a quick glance at her co-worker. "He's the most handsome man I've ever met in my entire life. There, I've said it. I shouldn't even think it."

“And why?” Holly answered a little surprised.

“I’ll tell you why. Josh likes you a lot. I can see it in his eyes; in the way he looks at you…He’s very sweet and also romantic. He’s the perfect gentleman. Vin’s opposite.” she ended the phrase while sighing deeply.

I would sacrifice everything…if only Vin would look at me the way Josh looks at Eileen…

"Vin struggles to hide his real feelings toward you, Holly" said the other girl softly, trying to comfort her. "He's got that light in his eyes, when he talks about you.. You should have heard him last night. He mentioned you a whole lot of times."

“He want just sex, Eileen” she told her in an exasperate tone.

“We talked about that many times. He broke my heart three years ago and I suffered a lot. Vin hasn’t got any feelings for any woman, except his mother and his sisters. He’ll just find an easy fuck, and I’ll be soon forgotten”

"Just an easy fuck?" Eileen repeated, "Honestly.. I don't think that he would still be after an easy fuck after three years. Not a week or two, Holly. It's been three years and he still thinks about you, there must be something more than just his raging libido, don't you think?" she teased her, smirking.

“No, it can’t be” Holly answered, sadly.

“He’s not that kind of man. But let’s change the subject. Josh was planning to go for a beer tonight, the four of us. Will you come?”

Eileen thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I'll come” she agreed, "But don't even think about leaving me alone with him. Alright?"

“To leave you alone with Josh would mean to stay alone with Vin. And I just have to be absolutely drunk to allow such a thing” she grinned, and stood up.

“Let’s go to the hotel, I know I’ll try a hundred dresses before I decide which one I’ll wear tonight!”

"Choose something really sexy. The sight of Vin drooling all over the place will be priceless!" Eileen chuckled, as she picked up her handbag and put away her notebook and pen.

Holly just grinned and followed her friend towards the hotel.

She invited Vin, too, and went to her room where she had an hot shower.

It was 22:30 and Holly wasn’t dressed, she was having a clothing crisis.

She had done her hair by pilling it on her head and letting pieces fall down and putting on the faintest trace of make-up. After 10 more minutes of debating, she finally decided on a velvet tank top and a pair of jeans. She also threw on her boots. Holly quickly looked in the mirror on her way out the door.
Eileen, too, had just exited her room, and the two girls met in the corridor. She was wearing a pair of low-slung jeans with flared legs, high-heeled black boots and a tight, black sleeveless top. Her blond hair hung loose upon her shoulders, and her make-up consisted in a dash of black eye shadow and mascara, with the addition of rosy lip-gloss. "We're awfully late" she said, panicked, and then smiled and eyed Holly attentively, nodding, as they rushed to the hall. "I must say you look really good."

“Thank you” she smiled back. “You look good, too”

When Vin saw them, he can’t help but smile.

His Holly was incredibly beautiful, and she was sexy in any kind of dress.

At the beginning he couldn’t believe that they were going out, just the four of them, as if they where a couple. He knew that it wasn’t a real date, but he would have tried his best to give her a good impression of him.

When he saw the girls approaching Josh smiled, too. And when he offered Eileen his arm she looked at him wide-eyed, definitely caught off guard by such unexpected gesture, but nonetheless she took hold of it and smiled in return. "I am sorry for the delay" she apologized, blushing slightly, and mentally rebuked herself for being that awkward. Again, she was acting like a dumb teenager in love.

"Don't worry at all. Shall we go?" Josh asked, smiling brightly at her and then at Vin and Holly.

Eyeing the other two, Vin took hold of Holly’s hand, and smiled tenderly at her, hoping that she wouldn’t yell at him.

To his surprise, she just smiled back, her eyes brightening as if she was happy about something.

She always had that glow when she looked at him, and he craved to cherish and protect her.

But those feelings were too strange for Vin, and he simply pushed them back, trying to ignore their existence.

He caressed her hand with his thumb and just nodded to Josh.

“Where do you plan to go?” asked Holly to the other two, trying to recover from that sickness that always overwhelmed her in those moments.

"I don't know, anyway everything will be just fine to me." said Josh, gazing at the other two. "Shall we take my car?"

“Yes” said Vin enthusiastically, walking with the others to the car.

He stepped inside on the back, sitting at Holly’s side, smiling to the others.

“If you want just a beer there’s a little pub on the northern side. And another good place is on Queen road, there’s good music there too”

"I’ll decide on the music then," said Josh as he turned the key, starting the humming engine of his jeep, and looked at the other two through the rear-view mirror. "Any objections?" he asked, smiling.

"It's fine with me." Eileen nodded, flashing him a quick glance and a smile. He was gorgeous, as ever. And to sit there next to him thrilled her beyond any reason, her heart was pounding madly inside her chest and she could scarcely breathe. She'd never felt like this before.

“Let’s go” smiled Holly, smiling back at him.

The place wasn’t far, and she grinned to Vin, who had helped her to step out of the car.

“What a gentleman” she whispered to his ear, waiting for the other two.

That simple whisper sent shivers upon his back, and he brushed away a lock of hair from his face, his eyes never leaving hers.

“For you, always”

The other two were staring at them, both patently amused. Josh shook his head and cleared his throat in an attempt to draw their attention, then took Eileen's hand and smiled at them: "Shall we?"

“Sure” muttered Holly breaking the eye contact with Vin.

The man took hold of her hand and followed Josh.

They sat at a small table in a quite secluded corner of the nightclub. Josh took his seat next to Vin, and in front of Eileen. The waitress had evidently identified the two actors, for she seemed indeed quite shaken up and she kept on smiling nervously, eyeing the two.

"Would you like to order?"

"Stout." Josh promptly replied, smiling, then looked at Eileen who smiled in return.

"Let's see." she muttered, wavering a little, and after a moment she purposefully raised an eyebrow. "I'd really like a Comfortable Screw, if that's not a problem." she said, grinning wickedly, causing Josh to start laughing aloud.

"Wouldn't be a problem to me sweetheart." he chuckled, reaching for her hand over the table and lightly squeezing it.

“And you told me that I was the nymphomaniac!” Vin whispered to Holly, who couldn’t help but laugh.

“We will have two mojitos” she told to the girl, smiling kindly, trying to calm her down, even if she knew that she had to hate her just because she was with two famous actors.

“Just as old times…” muttered Vin, eyeing her.

When the music started, Holly’s eyes widened in surprise.

Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go shawty
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday
And you know we don't give a fuck
It's not your birthday!

“Vin! That’s my favourite song!”

“So, come with me and shake your ass” he grinned, guiding her towards the dance floor, listening to 50 Cent’s song.

He didn’t know she liked hip-hop, and was particularly pleased ‘cause he loved that kind of music and that dance.

Hip-hop dancing is really sensual, boys and girls on the dance floor were shaking their bodies and he took advantage of the music, pressing his body to hers, closing his eyes and feeling the rhythm.

The other two were talking quietly, sitting at the table and smiling to each other, hands entwined over the table.

"So. Is the situation really that serious?"

"It is." Josh replied, nodding. "She threatens to take my children away from me. But let's not talk of this. Not now. Okay?"

"Okay" she smiled, squeezing his hand. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

"Mmm. You could tell me what's your concept of comfortable screw, for instance." Josh grinned, and they both laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll try to behave" he smiled, and took a swig from his mug. "Tell me something about you."

"About me?"

"Yeah."

"Alright.. What to say.. I was born in London, twenty-six years ago. I absolutely love my job and now I have this great opportunity for a good job, for the first time in my life. I also happen to really like someone, and I like him so much that when we're together I forget about everything else. For the first time in my life."

"Do I know him?"

"I believe you do."

"Come over here." Josh said softly, shifting on the bench to make room for her, an inviting smile on his lips. Eileen slowly got to her feet and hesitantly sat next to him, smiling tensely. She involuntarily held her breath when he reached for her face and gently stroked her cheek, his deep eyes studying attentively her reactions.

"I like you, too." he whispered, and framed her face with both hands to draw her closer, all the while staring deeply into her eyes. Eileen felt like she was about to pass out under that burning stare. She reached for his wrists, encircling them lightly with her hands, and smiled faintly at him. "Don't wake me."

"Not planning to." Josh murmured, and he would surely have kissed her, if Vin and Holly hadn’t returned to the table.

“That asshole was looking at you!” Vin was saying in an outraged tone.

“I don’t mind, he just watched, he didn’t do any harm” she smiled at him, lightly squeezing his hand, trying to reassure him.

“You collected a lot of lustful glances tonight, too, some of the ladies were about to jump on you” she smiled wickedly, knowing that they all envied her.

“We are beautiful together, Bonnie” he chuckled, sitting at the table.

“I think so, Clyde”

"Welcome back" Josh smiled, eyeing them curiously. "Have a good time dancing?"

Eileen was sipping her cocktail, somewhat embarrassed. Did Holly and Vin see them? She didn't dare to look at them.

“Yes, we had a lot of fun! “ chuckled Holly, looking at Vin.

“We are a good team, indeed” he grinned back.

They were looking at each other as if they were alone in the club.

Josh and Eileen exchanged a quick glance but said nothing, not wanting to ruin the moment. They just smiled, seeing the way Vin and Holly were staring at each other, and Josh lit a cigarette offering one to Eileen too.

The going out together ended too soon, and Holly gently remembered to the others that the day after they had some shots at early morning, and she had to welcome Sean Bean with Eileen.

“I’m tired” she whispered to Vin in the car.

“Do you want me to lull you to sleep?” he smiled wickedly at her.

“No, thank you, I know you too well.” Holly grinned, looking away.

“I’m not such a bastard…Am I?” he laughed aloud when he saw the look on her face.

"At least don't take advantage of the situation while on my car, thank you very much." Josh chuckled, darting them a quick glance through the rear-view mirror. "You’d divert my attention from driving, amongst other things."

“I know you’re craving to see me naked but I don’t think I’ll give you that pleasure” laughed Vin, looking at the other man.

He was glad that he was so funny.

Also the director told that their shoots together were going to be better if they had tried to become friends.

"Yeah, I just can't wait!" Josh replied mockingly, laughing. "Pretty please! I want to see it all, right now!"

"Oh, God." moaned Eileen, feigning to be utterly horrified by such words, but nonetheless she was laughing too. "I'm shocked."

“The only one to see me naked will be Holly, if she wants that.” he replied solemnly.

“Oh, no, thank you, you can keep your clothing on, I don’t deserve such an honour.” she laughed. “And I know that you’ll have plenty of girls that will see you naked before this filming is over.”

"Oh, well. Seems like I won't have the chance to see anyone naked, tonight." Josh whined, flashing an amused glance at Eileen who was still chuckling.

"You won't see me naked, that's for sure." she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "Not tonight, at least." He shook his head and grinned wickedly, but didn't reply.

Vin walked down the corridor, and when he and Holly arrived at their rooms, they smiled at each other.

“Good night.” she murmured, and he couldn’t help but smile, giving her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth.

“Good night. I know you’ll haunt all of my dreams.”

In her room, Holly tried to concentrate herself on her work, thinking that she’d have to pick up Mr. Bean at the airport in the morning, but alone in her bed, when she closed her eyes, the only face she could see was Vin’s.

I should stop that. We’re just friends, nothing more.