The Muses Within

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Hour By Hour - Chapter Three

5 PM

It was cold. Very cold. The burst of afternoon rain had turned into a cloudy, crisp evening with gusts of wind that seemed to tunnel in between the large studios and around the trailers. Kyrah held her robe tightly around her and wished she had on her big furry Hello Kitty slippers instead of the flip flops that exposed her cold toes to the wind. It felt more like a day in New York City than a day in supposedly sunny California. She was shivering and looked to the person beside her, the person that was holding her arm with his as he escorted her to set. Julian felt warm and his cheeks looked red. He wasn't affected by the wind, he wasn't shivering, and he was wearing a tank top. She was in a terry cloth robe.

"Kyrah." She sucked in a breath, plastered a smile and looked up at Julian. He wasn't amused. He picked a strand of hair that had fallen from her hair and tossed it back to where it was supposed to go. He had re-wet her hair, then blow dried it, giving it a tousled, flowing sexy look. A bedroom look. "If you don't feel good, I'll cover for you."

"What are you talking about?" she turned away from him. She didn't need him asking her what was wrong and if she wanted to talk. Celeste and he had been good in the trailer. They were silent. She assumed they didn't know what to say and she ended up blurting out with what had happened and how much she had cried and felt like an idiot. She told them that he had approached her after the shoot, then she admitted that she didn't care who he had called or what he had done, she still was falling in love with him but this time, even Julian seemed a little concerned about her feelings.

"If you're sick, I'll cover."

"Julian, you don't-" she sighed and pat his arm. "I'll be okay."

He blocked the door to the studio with his body and looked at her in the eyes. "You're shaking."

"I'm cold," she shrugged.

A small smile came to his lips. "You're terrified."

"Well, I've never been topless in front of people before," she rolled her eyes, trying to pretend she was annoyed with him and trying to get him off her case. She couldn't have him be right, even if he was.

"That's not why you're scared."

"Oh shut up," she pushed past him and opened the heavy studio door.

Three steps later and she was frozen. Julian put his hands on her shoulders but she didn't care. She didn't even really feel it. She gulped. There he was.

He was standing on a dimly lit set. The apartment set had been rolled away to a far corner and now there was a bed. It was your average everyday bed with a plain blue comforter and cream colored sheets. There were other people around but she didn't see them. To her eyes, there was only him, standing on the set. His arms were cross over his chest and his robe was opened enough to reveal only a pair of basketball shorts underneath. She was suddenly insanely aware of the fact that underneath her robe was only a pair of flesh colored bikini styled panties.

Julian was right. She wasn't cold, she was terrified.

"He said he was sorry, right?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes from Tom's lone figure. "Yeah."

"And he kissed you?"

Again she nodded, watching Tom sit down on the edge of the bed and stare at the floor. "Yeah."

"In front of people."

She snapped out of her daze when a camera was rolled in between her view of him. She glared at Julian. "What are you getting at?"

"That's a big thing for him, Ky. For a guy like him."

"Yeah, a big mistake," she turned to walk away from him. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't afford to be emotionally drained before such a big scene, or before such a big moment with him. She tried to pretend it was just work. "Rolling around topless in bed with Tom is just work," she kept repeating it to herself. It didn't work. Part of her wanted to run and dive straight for him and kiss him until her lips were numb but the other part of her knew cameras were there. She knew that Richard was there and she hadn't forgotten what had gone down on camera 30 minutes beforehand. Her sore eyes wouldn't let her.

"Kyrah." She groaned and turned around, wishing Julian would just leave her alone. She looked straight at him and he looked back. He shook his head. "You're not a mistake."

It was probably one of the worst things he could have said at that moment. Her sore eyes were sensitive and she could already feel herself start to get teary. She wasn't a mistake. Why couldn't she learn to repeat that to herself? She didn't want to be a mistake and she didn't want to be Tom's rebound girl. She wanted to be something for him but not that. That would break her.

Julian sensed her trouble and was in front of her in a flash, taking a Kleenex from his pocket and blotting her eyes to make sure no tears fell. He then rubbed her shoulders. "You and C will be in the trailer if I need you, right?" she asked him in a whisper.

He nodded. "We'd come on set but Richard's locking it up. Closed set and all." It didn't really make her feel better and he knew. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You'll be ok." He then winked at her and tried to make her smile. "You're so sexy, my little diva."

That worked a little. She didn't smile but it felt good to know that her two good friends would be waiting for her. She just wished Kelsie was there. "Thanks, Jules."

He turned and walked away, swaying his hips and calling back over his shoulder in a loud, embarrassing voice, "You better give him a boner." She blushed, and turned toward the set, staying behind the camera so she'd not have to look at him but the closer she got, the more her feet took her around the camera and soon she was standing five feet from him, hugging herself in her robe and trying not to make eye contact.

He was still looking at the floor when she said, "Hi."

He turned and it was too late. His eyes locked onto hers and he stood up from the bed. He smiled a little but didn't come any further. "Hey."

"How are you?" she cringed. "God," she thought. 'How lame."

He laughed and made a face that looked like pure horror. "I'm about to pee my pants."

"I'm freezing."

Marge quickly walked by, shooing away any people of the crew that weren't restricted to this shooting. She waved at them, then motioned to the bed, "Rich says go ahead and get in."

Kyrah looked at Tom and he passed her a sympathetic glance. They each quietly took their own side of the bed and pulled back the comforter. He slipped in first and after a moment's hesitation she slipped in beside him, kicking off her flip-flops. "This is so damn awkward," he said as he pulled off his robe and balled it up as best as he could. He threw it off the set.

She watched him, stared at him. He was too good looking for her or so she thought. He quickly pulled the sheets up under his arms, covering his top like he was embarrassed. At least she wasn't the only one. She thought about going ahead and taking off her robe but then thought against it. The set wasn't totally cleared and she wasn't quite prepared to be naked with him yet. She didn't think she would ever be prepared but she'd rather be told to get undress than just take the liberty herself.

He was right. It was awkward. It was actually more than awkward. It was mortifying. She didn't mind being in bed with him but they were on separate sides, both inches from the edge. Three feet separated them. She looked up and saw two insanely large cameras pointing in on them, protruding on their possibly intimate moment. The whole day had led to this. The kissing, the flirting, the vague mentions of love to each other, it all led up to this, being in bed together. It was so wrong. It was all so wrong. They hadn't even been able to talk about what had happened earlier. She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to spill out all her inner insecurities and just go with it but she couldn't. She held back and the damn cameras were getting in her way. It wasn't a matter of "if" now, she knew it was going to happen. She just didn't know how to go about doing what she wanted. She didn't know how she was going to tell him.

Richard walked up to them, smiling, being the dick that he was and eating up their misery. Actually during the past few scenes, Richard had turned into a pretty nice guy. He seemed to love her work. She seemed to be doing good work. The funny thing was, the past few scenes hadn't involved much acting for her. "So how do you two feel?"

"Cold," she said, dreading that she was a few moments away from shucking her robe and being exposed to him. She wondered if she would be this nervous if it was someone else, if it wasn't Tom who was lying beside her.

"We'll try to make this quick," Richard smiled, trying to make them at ease. It didn't work. "It'll just be you two and me, and Marge, Derek and Russ. So try not to be too nervous." Tom mumbled something under his breath but she didn't make it out. Richard laughed. "Just make out. You know your lines. We'll see where it leads us. You two have been awesome at improvising and ad-libbing today so we'll just let the camera roll until I think we got it, alright?"

They both nodded and Kyrah watched as the lights started to dim even more on the set. It was quiet and she looked around the set to see if anyone had sneaked in. There were only four other people beside her and Tom. That was four people too many.

"You okay?" Tom asked.

She bit her lip and looked over at him, knowing now that she was going to have to take off her robe since Marge was pulling her flip flops from the set. "Not really."

He chewed on his lower lip and looked at her curiously for a moment. Finally, he pulled the covers up so they acted as a shield from the cameras and himself. "Here, get under and do it."

"Thanks," she was blushing but touched at the motion. Her body scooted down against the mattress and she fumbled with the tie around her waist and got the robe undone. Pulling it from her arms and shoulders was the hard part but after rolling around like a worm, she got it away from her body. She gathered it up and threw it out from under the covers. Her hands took the sheet from him and she securely tucked it under her arms, blocking herself from view. She didn't know why she was being so weird about having anyone see her breasts. She had signed her contract so she knew when she got offered this job that there was a topless scene. A body double had been offered and she had refused. She was a professional and she knew she could do this.

She looked over at him. "No way. I can't do this."

"Be sexy and shy and- You two are hot! You know what to do. Ready?" She gulped and couldn't answer Richard. Marge called out the scene and before she had time to think they were filming. A warm hand grabbed hers underneath the sheet and soon a body was hovering over her, careful to not put too much weight against her own. His eyes peered into hers for a moment and he smiled.

He laughed awkwardly but it was a sexy laugh. It was deep, quiet and husky. The laugh of a lover in bed. He kissed her. It was different, he lowered his face and his lips swallowed hers. He tried to suck her into himself through his mouth, pulling, forcefully. He bent down lower and his chest pressed against her breasts. Kisses rained down her neck and she sucked in a breath. This was wrong, this was cheap. There were cameras there, and people. He sucked on her skin right below her ear. It was perfect.

"I don't want to stop," he whispered against her skin. She felt her skin prickle with goosebumps and ran her hands up his back to find that the goosebumps had invaded his skin as well.

He looked up a her and she smiled, "Then don't"

His eyes bore into hers and she wanted him to take her right there. It felt so good. It felt so damn good and she wanted him to rest in between her legs so she could feel him but he was still laying half beside her and he was still aware of the cameras. He proved that when he bit his lip and whispered, "Gabrielle-" He kissed her forcefully, pushing her head back against the pillow.

"Cut!" She jumped at the sound. It was too soon. She felt him pull away and plop beside her, uncaring, being professional. This wasn't good. "Uh, sorry guys. Tom, your arm was in the way. We couldn't see you talking."

"Oh," he paused and she watched him nod blankly. "Right."

She felt cheap and used. She bit her lip as they waited for them to get ready for the scene again. "Why is this day just getting worse and worse?" She couldn't kiss him now. She couldn't. She felt his hand on hers again. He held it, squeezed it and when she looked at him, he was staring at her.

"Kyrah," she heard Marge say and broke away from their desperate staring contest. She didn't have much time to think before Marge pulled the sheet down to their abdomens and Kyrah immediately covered her breasts. "Sorry, Rich wants to be able to see more than just two heads and a big mass under some covers."

Marge left them, and Kyrah moved a bit so that her arms were crossed over her breasts. The reality that she was topless in front of other people hit her like a car crash; sudden, unexpected and probably preventable. She wished they were filming, kissing, something so that he would cover her, protect her from the embarrassment of people seeing her nipples.

Her lungs took in a shaky breath and he noticed. "I'm sorry about this."

She licked her lips. "What?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, copying her position and looked out at the cameras with some bitter, resentful look on his face. "I wish we could be sharing this-" he glanced at her and whispered, "alone."

Whatever it was, something in that simple moment changed. Desire and attraction faded away into something bigger. It wasn't need because it wasn't begging. It wasn't hunger because it was quiet. She felt like she was underwater on a hot day; cool and calm, alone in a swimming pool, floating in slow motion, bored but content, waiting for something to happen, waiting for the hot afternoon to pass and ease into a muggy evening with crickets and cicadas and stars. She floated, swam but didn't come to the surface. She didn't have to. She didn't need to breathe.

Then he dove in.

She didn't know the cameras had started to roll and hadn't even heard anyone tell them to start but she felt him, flushed against her. He was in between her legs, settled, pressing into her. Her hands were pinned beside her head, fingers interlaced with his. A point was made to push into her breasts. Her nipples responded and her eyes couldn't move from his face. He looked lazy, heavy, relaxed and happy. He just stared and breathed until suddenly, with a quick flick of his tongue over his bottom lip, he dipped lower, slow and soft, caressing her mouth like it was a delicate and fragile rose. She could feel him smile. She could feel him everywhere.

He kissed her again and again, keeping her pinned beneath him, keeping her right there with her legs on either side of his hips, bent. He had her locked beneath him but she had him snuggled perfectly against her body. She wouldn't let him go. She couldn't help it when a little bit of a moan came from her mouth and he moved down a bit, sliding against her so that she could feel the erection bump against her through his thin shorts. His lips moved against her collar bone and his hands let her go, let her loose, let her free to do whatever she wanted to him. Her fingers moved against his head, pulling at his hair as he turned her body on fire.

His arms inched in between her back and the mattress and he pulled her tight against him, pressing his crotch against hers. He moved against her and she moaned.

"Fuck! Cut- Just cut," she gasped and her eyes opened to look into his. He looked just as surprised. She heard Richard growl in annoyance and didn't care to look and see what was wrong. She then realized it was dark. One of the dim lights had gone out. "Guys, don't move."

Tom was still lying on her, their laps pressed against each other. She could feel his heart beating and relished in the warmth of his breath when he sighed her name, "Kyrah."

"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly.

"I'm- .I'm-" he blushed and moved his hips, pulling away a little.

She smiled. He was aroused and embarrassed by that but she thought it was sweet and felt the same embarrassment. She was just as turned on as he was. "I don't mind," she said and touched his face. "I don't mind."

"You're so-" His face embedded against her neck and he kissed her there.

"Is this okay? Is this right?" She didn't know. It felt wonderful but she couldn't forget that they weren't alone. She couldn't push away the embarrassment and awkwardness of sharing this with him while they had an audience. "So...?"

He chuckled against her and pressed his hips against her. He whispered into her ear, "You taste so good."

She wanted to respond and she wanted to give into him but she couldn't, not with Richard coming up to them.

"You guys okay?" she heard him ask, then she blushed and tried to squeeze out from under Tom but he was staring at her, keeping her pinned beneath him. Richard noticed. "Wow, okay, sorry."

She gulped, pushed Tom off of her and covered herself promptly. She heard Richard mutter, "Fuckin' awkward," then he said to them, without looking, "Just one more shot, okay? Get really into it. Doesn't seem like that should be a problem." For a moment she wondered if they were about to get scolded.

"Is it in my contract not to have relations with my co-star? Does Richard know what's going on between us? What is going on between us?" Of course he knew. It was clear to anyone with a brain and two eyes what was happening between Tom and Kyrah.

Richard laughed, pat the bed and turned to walk away saying, "We need this scene to sell to all the sex-deprived women."

"And men!" Tom said, running a hand over her bare stomach under the sheet. Kyrah felt her whole body flush.

Before she had time to calm herself down or cool her body down from the heat of embarrassment and having Tom's skin against hers, he was back on her again. She was moaning his name as he kissed against her neck. She forgot where she was, once again and melted away in a world that was only them. It wasn't until minutes later when she heard Richard's laugh and another cut that she was able to regain her sense of self and what she was doing. She kept forgetting. She kept forgetting that she was at work; she was an actress and supposed to be professional. He was making her lose her mind.

"Guys, why don't we call it a wrap on this scene, okay?" She sucked in a breath. It was over. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad and couldn't tell in Richard's voice if he was pleased with the shoot or not. "I might have to do some reshoots later on. I'll just have to see if I can splice this footage together."

She closed her eyes and slid down under the covers. She wanted to grab his hand and say something to him but she kept her eyes closed and kept to herself. She wanted him to make the first move. Her eyes quickly were forced opened though when a certain giggle met with her ears.

She peaked from under the covers to her right and saw Marge approaching her. She handed her a robe and Kyrah slowly put it own. Marge was still giggling at her and she wanted to smack the girl for making fun of her. "Isn't she a professional? Hasn't she ever worked on a movie with a sex scene in it before?" Marge's laugh was grating on Kyrah's nerves and she just couldn't keep her mouth shut, not this time. "What the hell is so damn funny?"

"You said his name," she whispered and covered her mouth.

"What?" Kyrah asked, utterly confused.

"Tom's. On that last shot, you were saying Tom instead of Victor."

"But-" She felt like she was about to throw up her entire stomach. "That can't be. He- He-" None of it made any sense. She had always been a little bit of a shy, awkward person but this was humiliation. This was torture and now she was damn sure that Richard knew, the whole crew knew and her life was over. "But he didn't stop me. Tom didn't stop me."

Marge laughed even louder and walked away, "Exactly."

It was then that Kyrah turned to look at Tom, to ask him what was going on. "Is this a game? Am I on one of those prankster shows?" But Tom wasn't there. He was already at the door of the studio with his robe around him, flip flops on his feet, flying away from where they had just been. She wasn't going to let him run away this time. Whatever this was that was going on between them was going to be let out in the open. She would be damned before she let him spend another hour confusing her and tying up her emotions. If he wanted her saying his name or anything else, he was going to have to ask her, not let it be some cheap thrill with cameras in front of them.

She had been hurt in her past and had found herself in a comfortable position of being alone, miserable and scared but he had changed that. She had become comfortable with controlling her love life and making it non-existent and she was determined to make their relationship become real before he forced it out of control.

6 PM

He paced. Five steps to the right, turn around, five steps the other way. He was treading a path into the floor of his trailer. Nothing could calm him down. A glass of water only made him thirstier. Washing his face made him cold. Pacing made him sweat. He was out of control, out of his mind, and completely out of luck.

"Tom."

It had rolled off her tongue easily, sliding against him like silk in the wind. It was impossible for him to feel this way after ten hours. Ridiculous was the word he'd use but this was reality. Ridiculous reality that had him ruining the soles of his shoes as he walked back and forth, like too much water in a tub sloshed around by a rambunctious two year old. It was how he felt: two years old with a restless heart that ached to be back in that bed with her. It was all okay, all fake, all just for show. He could control it. He wanted to control it. He could push it away, say it was too soon, blame it on a rebound. He had been attracted to women before. He had acted out on it before and he did that with Kyrah but then she whispered his name.

And it wasn't fake and it wasn't a show and it wasn't just attraction. It wasn't a rebound and it wasn't something he could push away. It was need when she said his name and not his character's. Fear rushed through him, a fear he had never felt before. Sure, he had been scared of girls when he was younger, afraid to approach them but he quickly got over that and could melt a woman's heart with a shy smile and a quiet attitude. He'd laugh charmingly and they were his. He learned not to be afraid and hadn't been afraid in years but Kyrah- Kyrah Berkshire had terrified him.

He had run away like a boy and felt like an imbecile. Now he had to live with himself, live with the fact that he had been on top of her, kissing her, feeling her body against his and proud of his sex appeal. He had made her squirm and she was sexy underneath him, whispering and begging for it. The cameras rolling annoyed him, yet in the same sense they excited him. To be with her like that with an audience, he could only imagine what she'd be like alone but he had been with her alone earlier that day and she was shy and she was hurt. "A broken woman. No, a girl. A broken girl who had grown up into a cautious woman." This woman was spending her day with him, rehearsing with him, kissing him, telling him that she had feelings. This broken girl was calling out his damn name.

It felt like a thunderstorm on a late July afternoon in muggy North Carolina. It didn't quench the earth or cool the air, it only made everything stickier, thicker, hotter. By the time it was over, the sun was starting to set. Cicadas noisily hummed in the background and nothing could cool him down because tomorrow would be just a hot, just as humid and not a damn thing could cool him off. Ice would only melt and fans would only blow hot air around.

She had imprisoned him in summertime and he couldn't break free.

He didn't want to.

The pacing stopped. Suddenly, he found himself sitting on his couch, staring at the floor and wondering if he should do what he wanted to. He wanted to march over to her trailer and tell her all that he was thinking. "But who am I to bring her into my crazy life? Am I the man that could patch all her tears and clean her wounds and repair her? Am I hopeless?" He felt that way, a hopeless fool completely unable to make this work. "Could I make it work? Would it work?"

Perhaps what was best was for him to go home, think about it for a while and come back tomorrow with a clear sense of what was really going on. A call to his mother, a chat with his step-dad, maybe a word or two from Bill, maybe that was what he needed. Support was always something he liked even though sometimes he guarded his independence with a hostile nature. Or was this a topic that needed to be discussed with only himself, in a darkened room with no outside forces?

Kyrah. Maybe he needed to talk with her. He shook his head. She would only turn him into mush, and he would be lost to any ability to say no. Yes would be the only answers she'd receive. Do you love me? Yes. Do you want me? Yes. Do you need me? Yes. Do you think this is a mistake? Yes.

But no.

Hell no.

Kyrah was no mistake. "Kyrah is- What is she?" He tried his best not to glorify her into some vision of perfection. He had done that before with women and had ended up completely brokenhearted in the discovery that they weren't so perfect but she deserved to be he worshiped, even for her flaws. For her shy defiance, her constant need for approval, her genuine uncertainty and her fear, all of it needed to be loved and he wanted to be the one to do that.

"But you just had to run away. You fool." That thought still struck him hard and he shook his head, covering his face with his hands, unable to believe that he was so scared. What was there to be scared of when everything in him told him that this was right. "She is right and I'll be damned if-"

There was a knock and it rendered him speechless. He knew he was in a state of disarray and needed to be careful of letting someone in. He didn't need Julian or Celeste or anyone else for that matter going back to her and telling her he was a mess but he couldn't just ignore the door. A moment was taken and he breathed deeply trying to collect himself. Another knock came, quieter than before. He found it odd that the visitor would soften their tapping on the second try.

His legs took him to the door, his hand reached out for the knob, his arm opened the door and his eyes saw who was there but his mind and his body weren't ready for it.

"Hey," he gulped.

"Um," Kyrah nibbled on her bottom lip and looked up at him with huge eyes. "Can I come in?"

He stumbled to find his words and finally stepped aside. "Sure, of course."

She breezed past him and he shut the door. "Is this happening?" He shook his head. "Why am I so damned shocked?"

She was sitting on his couch, exactly where he had been, and she was staring at him. He didn't move. He couldn't. He held onto the door which was holding him up. His fist balled in an attempt to keep himself calm and keep himself from marching to her and spilling his heart. That would be embarrassing. A deep breath refreshed him and another gave him a bit of confidence.

"I think we need to talk about all this."

He barely heard her and stepped closer. Her lips were pouting at him unintentionally and she looked beautiful. She had changed into jeans and a T-shirt. His mind couldn't stop racing and he kept thinking about her underneath him almost naked, sighing, kissing him, her body tight against his, her breasts-

"Tom?"

He shook his head and gripped the back of the recliner. "Right, sure."

"So-" Kyrah didn't move her eyes from him and he couldn't move his eyes from hers. Finally, after about a minute, she pat the space beside her. "You wanna have a seat?"

"No, I'm cool standing." He wanted to sit with her but knew if he did, he'd probably be charged with molestation or sexual harassment. Actually, he was pretty sure that Kyrah wouldn't press charges or anything but he was a little worried with getting carried away.

"Your standing is making me nervous."

"Sorry."

Kyrah's mouth dropped a little bit. He knew that she was getting a little annoyed with him but he didn't know what to say. What was there to talk about? He was in love with her and wanted her more than peach cobbler in that moment.

Moments passed, minutes disappeared, and finally she threw up her hands and sighed fairly frustrated. "Look, I just came here to get some sense of understanding of where we were at because you're confusing the hell out of me and I really don't think it's fair to me. Especially since-"

She kept rambling and rambling and he couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. He felt like a pig but she was looking just too damn good. He was tired of them trying to dissect something that was impossible for them to understand. Finally he just said, "Fuck it," to himself and interrupted her. "Stand up."

"Excuse me?"

He waved her over with his hand, "Just stand up and come here."

For a moment, he thought she was just going to sit there and continue to stare at him like he was a mutant but after a while, she nodded and pushed herself off the couch. "Okay." She slowly walked toward him. When she was about four feet away, she stared at him and asked, "What?"

He licked his lips and gathered his thoughts. Finally he spilled it out, "I've spent the past half hour or so thinking, racking my brain, desperately trying to do what you want; to understand us. I've been doing it all day and you have too. I think I've figured it out."

"Thank God someone has," she laughed a little bit but he didn't. He couldn't stop looking at her. She was positively one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. "Are you gonna tell me-"

He shook his head and stepped forward. His hand came up and held her face and he smiled at her. "I don't think we're supposed to understand it or figure it out or name it or analyze it. I think we're just supposed to let it happen."

"But-"

He couldn't help himself and cut her off with a kiss. She didn't seem too shocked by it and quickly started to kiss him back. It was slow and he knew right then it was going to be okay. This was right, she was right. Kissing her was right.

She pulled away and pressed her forehead against his. They both smiled. "It scares the shit outta me too," he said, knowing that she was thinking the same thing.

Her eyes opened and lifted to his. That was the last bit of sanity that crossed his mind before he was propelled into madness. Sweet, utter madness.

It started by the chair and ended up against the wall. Laughter and shy smiles led them to the couch and now he was on top of her repeating the actions he had on set but this time they were actually clothed and this time no one else was around. This time they were alone. He didn't hold back. Kissing her was a privilege, like eating a really fine dessert so he took his time, savoring it, savoring her. The longer he took, the more anxious he became and the sexier her little moans sounded against his ear as he kissed against her neck. His hands moved over her breasts and she didn't resist him and didn't tell him to stop. In fact, she did just the opposite. When he heard her whisper, "more," he had to do the best he could to restrain himself.

His hand went underneath her shirt and the two of them ended up on their sides, facing each other. Her leg was in between his and he moved his thigh against her, trying to get her into the same state he was. He was rather erect and he tried to get some friction against that part of his body but the way they were laying, he was unable to and decided it would be best to just worry about her for the time being. His hand cupped her breast underneath her shirt and over her bra. He continued to kiss her, hard this time. Skin to skin contact was something he was unsure he'd be able to control. He knew there was a line and a barrier that once it was breached, there was little turning back.

"Take it off," she whispered and he realized she was tugging at his shirt. He pulled away from her for a moment and tugged it over his head. He smiled as she looked over his body and her hands ran over his chest.

"Your turn."

She smiled and he helped her pull her shirt away from her body to reveal the sexiest, simplest black bra he'd seen in a long time. His lips immediately went to her cleavage where he pressed small kisses against the swell of her breasts and the valley in between. She arched her back and lifted her body against him.

He figured it was time for her to give him a little something, if she was willing and she was. She pushed him onto his back and pulled herself up on top of him, straddling him. The weight of her body against his lap made his eyes roll back in his head. She shifted and when he looked up at her she was sporting a small smile. "Oh, she knows what she's doing," and that turned him on more than anything. He grabbed her again and sat up against her, kissing her and pulling at her lip with his teeth. He moved his hands up her back and over her shoulders as she continued to move against him, rubbing their bodies together.

It was blissful.

He moved the black straps off her shoulders and kissed against her collar down to her breasts, pulling the bra down so that he could get to where he wanted and see what he wanted.

"Wait."

His eyes moved from her excited nipples up to her face. "She had to be joking." He shook his head, "Oh, hell no."

She laughed and quickly moved to pull her bra back into place and the straps over her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and said, "Come on, not like this."

"You gonna make me work for it?" he was slightly annoyed that she had stopped him but he didn't want her to see that stubborn part of him. Still, she had worked him up to a huge hard on and was now gonna cut them short. That wasn't fair.

"Well, shouldn't you?" she pulled away, smiling but giving him a look.

"Yes," he kissed her. "I should. I should beg for it. You should make me crawl and beg because you're that good." He knew why she had stopped them though. He knew damn well why and he didn't blame her.

"I was thinking more like- Just not here in a frenzy on the floor when all those people out there are gonna be wondering why I haven't come back in an hour or two."

"Come home with me," he blurted out and she stared at him in shock. "Come home with me tonight. You don't have to stay and we don't have to do anything but let's get away from here. We'll go get some dinner or something." She smiled and he knew he had won. He was playing a wild card with the whole 'you don't have to stay the night' thing. He wanted her to. He was craving her more than anything. Having sex with Kyrah would be amazing, perfect. He knew it but he also knew that it could screw things up if he was an asshole about it.

She bit her lip, then a smile broke out on her face and she nodded. "Okay." That made him happy and he kissed her but she kissed him back again and again. They were soon back against the couch, her down on top of him. His hands moved over her back and down to her ass and soon they were searching to go beneath her jeans. When that happened, she laughed and pulled off of him. "Okay, stop!"

He chuckled as she rolled away from his body and put her arm in between them, clearly trying to pull herself away. That made him hot, knowing she couldn't help herself with him, knowing that she wanted him too. Her handed her shirt to her, then tugged his own back over his head. Once they were clothed, she sat herself back against him and curled up to him with her arms around his neck.

He kissed her simply and asked, "Why don't you go get your stuff together? Do you wanna just follow me so your car's not left here?"

"No."

He sighed, not wanting to bring it up but knowing that he had to. She was paranoid on set and he knew she was worried about what the crew thought about her and especially what Richard thought of her. "There's gonna be speculation about that, Ky."

"You know what," she sighed and pulled her arms from him. "Who cares?" He looked at her strangely. There was a new confidence about her and he was curious as to where that came from so suddenly. "It shouldn't matter and if it does, then fuck them."

That made him grin. That made him happy as hell that she didn't care. That she just wanted to be with him, no matter what. "That's hot."

She pulled away from him and stretched. "Let me go get my stuff, then I'll meet you back here, okay?"

She was gone a few minutes later and he had a thought a scary thought. Maybe she was running away and doing what he had done to her time and time again that day. He deserved it. He deserved to be turned on to no end, then have her just disappear but she didn't. While he was getting his own stuff together and working himself into a panic about her unsure return, she knocked on the door and let herself into his trailer.

Tom could only smile when she asked him, "Ready?" with a large tote bag over her shoulder. "Hell, yes I'm ready." Ready for her, ready for whatever would happen that night because he just knew, it was gonna be a fantastic evening.

7 PM

It was quiet. Kyrah didn't really know what to say. What was she supposed to say to him as he drove her to his house? It was quiet but not awkward. In fact, she felt perfectly relaxed and at ease in the passenger seat of his car, listening to him hum and lightly sing along to Coldplay. Something about being with him felt perfectly right, even more right than when she was with Mike. She couldn't explain it and didn't really know if she wanted to. She was ready to find out where this would lead. Well, she knew where it would lead. They were driving from Burbank to Hollywood, then into The Hills and to his house. Once they got there, she didn't know what was going to happen.

He had said there was no pressure to stay and no pressure to do anything she didn't want to do but she wanted to stay. She wanted to be with him. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she didn't know. They were rushing things and it was going way too fast for either of them to comprehend what was really happening but she didn't care.

She was happy with him. He made her feel like she mattered, like she was special. It was something she hadn't felt in years.

She studied him: the pout in his lips, slant of his nose, his smooth cheeks, defined eyebrows, brown eyes watching the road as he drove them off the freeway and into Hollywood. He looked comfortable, completely at ease as he casually had one hand on his thigh and the other on the steering wheel. He was so good looking, the best looking man she had ever kissed. That thought made her smile and she couldn't stop smiling or stop looking at him.

Their day had been insane. She had woken up a little scared of what was happening that day. Okay, a lot scared. As the day progressed, drama seemed to enshroud her. She had never had a day with more feelings attacking her: sadness, loneliness, embarrassment, anger, frustration of all kinds, disappointment, shame, happiness, hope, love and now complete contentment. It had been an emotional day but a good day with a good outcome, and it wasn't even over yet.

"Stop staring at me."

She blushed and was met with his smile as he stopped at a stoplight and looked over at her. She was caught off guard as she realized how long she had been staring and how silly she must have looked. "Sorry."

He changed hands on the steering wheel and moved one up to his face, wiping around his mouth. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I was just looking. Sorry," she was embarrassed but not quite ashamed. He was a beautiful being and she didn't feel bad for looking at him, just a little stupid for getting caught.

"It's okay," he reached over and grabbed her hand. "I actually like when you look at me. Normally, I hate it when people gawk at me and point and are like 'Is that Tom Kaulitz?' Half the time I want to just look back and yell 'No, it's not! Leave me alone.' But when you look at me, I just- I wanna look back."

"You think I'm attractive, Tom?"

He laughed and pulled his hand away. "Are you crazy? Of course I do. I find you more than attractive," he paused. "What about me?"

"I don't think you need anyone telling you how good looking you are, Tom."

She sat there as he smirked at her in a completely cocky manner that she couldn't help but adore. She didn't know what it was about him and his bit of arrogance but it was so sexy. Arrogant guys always annoyed her but his slight cockiness was just a candy coating of the deeper man with true humility he was inside. Plus, he had every right to be cocky. He was every girl's fantasy. It was amazing to her that years ago while her friends were dreaming of their perfect man and their perfect wedding and perfect marriage, she was dreaming of being on stage or in front of a camera, becoming a new person and making people laugh or smile or cry or angry. Her dream had come true.

She was there, in the glitz and glam of Hollywood, though that was never anything she wanted. She was going to be in a movie, people were going to know her name and hopefully, this wouldn't be her last role. Her dream was coming true. She never thought she'd have a man by her side when it happened. She never thought she would have a good man by her side.

It was strange. She really knew nothing about Tom outside of his famous life and the bit she had found out in that day. She only knew a few things about his past relationships and knew nothing about what he did when he wasn't on set. She didn't know where he lived or who he hung out with or what he did for fun. All she knew was that he was kind and sweet and something in her made her take this chance with him. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly she was okay to go for it, to plunge straight into this with him but it wasn't so black and white.

Parts of her were still scared. Parts of her were still unsure. That day had been a roller coaster and it was only after she couldn't hide it from herself and couldn't deny what he was doing to her, that she gave into him, into herself, into the life she had been forsaking for so long. She was terrified about what the future might bring. She was terrified that they might get to his house, throw open the door, make love on his couch, go to sleep and she would wake up the next morning, late for set, with Richard and the rest of the crew ready to fire her and Tom. Then Tom would realize that she was too much to handle.

Her nerves were starting to fray now and she knew if she didn't do something fast, she'd be back in tears on the phone with Kelsie, telling her that she was flying back home. Now she couldn't help but think, what if they did go with it and went home and had sex, and she woke up and he was smiling at her, and they went on set and her life was perfect but a month later she was left alone again because of whatever reason and they still had to work together, and all the crew found out, Richard found out, and her life was ruined.

She was working herself into a mess and needed to stop it but she didn't know how. "So, um-" She took a deep breath and tried to give her confidence but it didn't work. "What are we going to do for dinner?"

"I don't care. It's up to you."

It was quiet and she couldn't get her thoughts to stop. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "This can't be happening again. I had just been confident and comfortable with him. Why am I still so unsure?"

The worst part was he had noticed. "Ky?"

She peered at him and he was glancing at her every now and then before quickly shifting his eyes back at the road. She knew he was worried and at the same time, she needed to be sure that he was sure about this. If there was anyone who could give her hope, it was him. "Okay, I may be ruining something here but aren't you scared? Aren't you a little terrified of what's going to happen if this doesn't work." She stared at him and her hopes started to crumble.

He tensed up and his face began to frown, his forehead wrinkled. "No, I mean-" he sighed, didn't look at her, and kept his eyes on the road ahead. "Maybe I am a little but I don't care Kyrah. I feel right when I'm with you. I feel good. I don't feel like I have to worry about what people might think or what I should do or what I shouldn't do. I can just be myself with you and I like you so much. You're one of the most genuine people I've met. That's refreshing. I'm just going at this like I know how. Maybe we're going too fast and maybe you shouldn't be coming over," he then looked over at her. "But I want you to and I think you want to also. I'm tired of being overly cautious in my life. I don't wanna pressure you and I definitely don't want my mask of confidence, making you nervous because I am confident in us, Kyrah, and I see a future here. I really do."

"Really?"

He stopped for a light and leaned towards her, touching her face. "Yes, I'm as scared as you but I believe in us and tonight. If you don't wanna stay, that's okay and if you don't want to kiss me or do anything, that's okay but I'd really like for you to, if you want to. Not to sound like a pervert."

"I- I wanna stay."

He smiled and she leaned into him and kissed him. She didn't know why but it felt right and it helped make her fears dissolve. She hated being this way, being so fickle and fragile. She tried not to be and if he was willing to put up with her, then he must be worth it. A horn blared them back into reality and he broke from her quickly, speeding through the now green light. He cleared his throat, "So dinner, what are you in the mood for?"

She smiled, situated herself a little bit in the seat and asked, "What are the choices?"

"We can do take out. All I have at my house is frozen pizza."

"I could go for some DiGiorno."

"It's Tombstone."

"That works."

"You sure? I mean," he paused and glanced at her sheepishly. "I'm not the best cook."

"Oh," she teased, reaching over to pinch his side, causing him to grab her hand in response. "So you are a spoiled little rich celebrity who can't cook for himself."

"Am not," he glared.

"So are."

He faked mad and scoffed. "Well, you're gonna be the same way soon. After this movie comes out, you're gonna be hot stuff."

"You think?"

"Yeah," he relaxed again and winked at her. "Get ready."

She always felt being an actress was in her blood. The fame and the money weren't what she was out for. Of course she didn't mind them but she wasn't an attention seeker and wasn't greedy. She had been around photoshoots and sets before and heard rumors and stories but she figured Tom was probably the best expert on being famous there was and she wanted to know the details, just in case it happened to her. "What's it like?" she asked. "You know, to be famous and have everyone know you."

"Are you serious?"

"Come on, I know all the paparazzi stuff and the crazy fans and all that but what else?"

"Well, I don't know," he sighed and was quiet for a while. She didn't know if he was going to answer and didn't see what the big deal was but finally he said, "There are lots of perks. Free shit galore. People will pay you or give you anything to see you using their products but it gets old. All the ass kissing gets really old. It's hard finding someone real out here and it's hard cutting through the bullshit sometimes. That's why I like you. You're just a real girl, a real girl who really cares about acting and cares about doing this. I hope you don't lose that."

"I don't think I will." She watched him and he began to smile almost as if he was proud of her, confident of her, but happy with himself. She didn't know what that meant and pulled herself back from analyzing it.

"Yeah, you won't. I mean everyone loves you. I know you worry about Richard and the crew and, yeah, he can be a dick sometimes but everyone on the set loves you and compliments you and loves being around you. You make everyone at ease and, like I said, you're just so genuine and- I don't know. You're great."

"Thanks, Tom."

"I'm serious, you're-" he shook his head with a smile. "I don't know."

"Come on what? Feed my ego," she laughed.

"You're just special, Kyrah. A girl like you doesn't come along often."

"You're so good at that."

"At what?"

She met his smile and reached over to rub his shoulder. She didn't know why, she just had the urge to touch him. "Making me feel worth it."

"You are worth it. Who in the hell told you you weren't? Let me go kick their ass."

She groaned when the image of her ex came into her head. Mike was a sore subject and she had a feeling he always would be. She was glad she was working on getting over him and his control over her. "Who do you think?"

Tom shook his head. "That guy must have really fucked with your head."

"I think so. I mean-" she laughed at herself and thought about her and Mike. Most people her age would be over their high school boyfriends but being in New York and alone, she latched onto him more than she would have if she was with friends. "He wasn't even that cute. Such a waste. I don't know how but this one day has made me realize how the past five years of my life were wasted either with him or wanting to be with him or being afraid because of him and it's not like he's a mean guy, he's just stupid and pathetic."

"You can do so much better than that jerk off."

She bit her lip and looked at him. "I am doing so much better."

"Oh, really?"

She giggled and her belly grumbled, making her laugh more. "I'm going to be doing better once I get some food in me."

"I'm starving too. You wore me out today."

She smacked him playfully. "Hey!"

"I liked it."

They soon turned off onto a side street and a few turns later, they were at the entrance to a gated neighborhood complete with a small gatehouse and two levers, one to exit and one to enter. She could see a house or two from where they were now and they looked huge.

"Wow, gated and everything," she said. Suddenly this feeling came over her. It wasn't good and it wasn't bad. It was just realization of who she was with. The whole day she had approached him as just Tom, just the guy she was doing a movie with. She knew he was famous but for some reason, going into this gated community, looking at the houses as he pressed in a code and the lever raised, this made her realize that he was Tom Kaulitz, a celebrity, richer beyond anything she had ever seen or been in contact with, and for some reason, he wanted to be with her.

"Keeps the crazy fans and paparazzi out sometimes. Plus, it's a quiet neighborhood."

"Looks expensive."

He smirked. "Well, it is."

"So how much are you worth?"

"Ah ha!" he laughed and turned down at road that had a steep incline. "That's what you're after."

"You figured me out." It seemed the farther uphill they got the more crazy the houses got. She couldn't help but be blown away. "Wow."

"What?"

She wasn't a materialistic person but coming from a modest home in North Carolina, these places were incredible, not just their size but their design. "Compared to my little condo, these are palaces. Hell, compared to my parents two-story back in North Carolina, these are palaces."

They soon got to a place she could barely see above the tall stucco wall around it. From the bit she saw, she could see a Spanish-style tan stucco house with a red tiled roof. They were in front of a wooden gate that slid to the left after Tom pressed in some numbers in a security keypad. This was Tom's home.

It was beautiful and she loved it immediately, before even stepping inside. "Wow, I love Spanish-style."

"Me too. It's not gonna rain anymore is it?" he asked as he pulled up in the drive way and parked the car.

"I don't think so."

"Good because this is Bill's car and I don't have my garage opener," he laughed as he turned the engine off and removed his seat belt. "The kid's psycho about his cars."

"Where is Bill?" she reached in the backseat and pulled out her duffel bag. She smiled to herself. "Yeah, I'll definitely be staying the night."

He got out of the car and watched as she was getting her stuff together. "Oh, when he went to get lunch, he went and got his girlfriend who just flew into town. They're probably at her place and won't be back around until tomorrow. He lives here half the time and with her the other part of the time."

"You guys are friends as well as brothers?" She got out and closed her door as he did the same.

He waited on his side of the car for her to walk around. "Best friends. He's the only real friend I've been able to keep, aside from our friend Andreas, since we became famous. You'll see, you learn who your friends are pretty quickly."

"Are we friends, Tom?" She asked as she stopped beside him. He grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him. She leaned against his body which was against his side of the car. She had to drop her duffel bag but didn't mind. His arms were around her and his eyes were looking straight at her. It was perfect, it was right and there was no other place she wanted to be.

"I think we're more," he whispered before leaning down and kissing her. It was slow and soft. If she could, she would have just stayed right there in his driveway, kissing him but he stopped too soon and pulled away, leaving her anxious for more and craving to get him inside.

"Come on," he smiled, holding onto her chin before kissing her quickly again, then rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip. "Let's go inside and eat."

She bit her lip. He bent down to pick up her duffel bag in one hand and held her hand with his other. She couldn't stop smiling. It was going to be a damn good night.

No matter what insecurities or fears she still had, they didn't match the power of her excitement she had for seeing where he was going to take her and how far their relationship was going to go.

8 PM

Whatever had happened, whatever Tom did to get to this point, he was glad he did. A lot of times, especially recently, he had been wondering if he had made the right decisions, if it was him that was to blame for all the loss of love he had experienced. Twelve hours later, just half a day, he knew somewhere a long the line, he had done something right. Everything in him knew, felt and believed that this was right as he watched her search through his kitchen cabinets, looking for things to set the table. Even though most everyone he knew would blame him for getting his hopes up or jumping the gun, he didn't care. He was falling in love with her.

He had never in his life been one to classify love. He was still a romantic and believed that with love, miraculous things might happen. That day miraculous things did happen. The morning had been miserable. Waking up with a hangover, a bruised ego and an aching heart, he set out to work with a bad attitude. He had complained to those around him, bitched at them, acted like he was the only one that mattered, then he walked on set and Kyrah was there. She had been sitting in her chair, quietly looking out on set with a nervous look in her eyes. She was beautiful. She had brightened his day.

"Where are your wine glasses?"

"I'll get them."

Now she was in his kitchen, trying to make the most out of a frozen pizza cooking in the oven and a bagged salad. He walked over to her and stood behind her, reaching up into the cabinet above for two wine glasses. He pressed his body into hers mainly to tease but also because it seemed like it had been forever since he had felt her against him, even though they had been kissing a few moments before. He heard her sigh and lean back against him. His search for glasses was abandoned and he wrapped his arms around her.

Through his life he'd played many roles in a relationship. He had been one of those guys that got all mushy, would buy the Hallmark cards and the teddy bears and the roses and say the perfect, cliche things. He had been the guy that poured his heart out in a poem or song. He had been the guy that didn't give a damn, who just wanted to hang out and fuck. He didn't want to be any of those guys anymore. He wanted to be a man. Kyrah's man.

His lips touched her neck and he felt her hand reach up and run through his braids. It was a loving moment but sensual at the same time. They hadn't really talked about what was happening that night. They had briefly mentioned it and he had no expectations from her. He honestly thought if they just ended up falling asleep on the couch, that would be fine but he wasn't about to deny more, anything more.

"I need to finish this."

He whispered, kissing up to her ear, "I'm helping."

"You're distracting," she laughed and pushed him the best she could. "Go check on the pizza," she pointed to the oven with the tongs she was mixing the salad with.

"Wine glasses first," he chuckled and reached up to the cabinet. He got the glasses and walked over to the table to set them with the rest of their little set up. He was amazed at how she was so quick in the kitchen. She set his table perfectly and effortlessly figured out how to make a plain meal into something romantic and classy. If it was up to him, they'd probably be eating pizza out of a box on the couch with Spike TV on but she knew better. Somehow along the way, he had lost his ability to care and to be that suave, sexy guy he use to know. No doubt it was still there somewhere but something in him over the years stopped giving a damn. He became sloppy.

It was the reason he and Ria had hit it off so well. She wasn't a fancy girl. He liked that about her. She could sit on the floor with a frozen pizza and some beers and watch sports or a horror movie with him. She'd burp and fart and get along with Bill and Andreas and all the guys from the band like a champ. They all loved her, he loved her but it wasn't the same as this. Ria was like one of his friends, one of his best friends who just happened to female and attractive but now that he thought about it, now that he had his great advantage of separation to think back on their relationship, he realized that, as much as he loved that fun, relaxed, playful girl that Ria was, he wanted a woman. He thought that a girl near her thirties would give that to him but she didn't.

Here was this girl from North Carolina, just starting out in her life and career, fixing him dinner and setting the table. He didn't want to be one of those stereotypical men who thought a woman's place was in the kitchen but he had always chalked up the definition of woman to exactly who his mom was. His mom was always in the kitchen, always preparing food and even if it was just a cheese sandwich and potato chips, you would feel like it was a gourmet meal because she made it.

That's how he felt with Kyrah. She had a class about her. She had a way that made him at ease and made everything special. Even spitting cherry seeds into a bowl and eating McDonald's fries with an obscene amount of ketchup, somehow she made it special. She even put the bagged salad in his nice wooden salad bowls and was now carrying them to the table. The way she walked and the way she carried herself, it was all exactly what he wanted, what he was craving for.

He knew she could sit on the floor and eat pizza and hang out with the guys but she'd still be Kyrah, still be herself, still be a woman, his woman hopefully. He liked thinking of her as his and he was hers, all hers.

"Did you pick out a good bottle?"

"You like Chianti?" he asked and pulled the bottle off the small wine rack he had there on his counter. He wasn't a big wine drinker but appreciated it and enjoyed it. If it would loosen them both up, throw away their insecurities and make them at ease with each other, he would love it.

She laughed and deepened her voice, saying, "With fava beans and liver."

"Creepy."

"I have a bit of an Anthony Hopkins obsession just to warn you."

"He's cool," he set the bottle down when the timer went off on the oven. He walked over to the oven and opened the door to look in. "It looks done. Do you want me to pull it out?"

"Just turn the oven off, leave it cracked and leave the pizza in there."

"Okay, I'll just open the wine," he smiled, snatching a bottle opener from a drawer and winking at her.

She laughed at him, a purely divine feminine laugh. "Good idea."

He watched her work and stood there just staring at her. She caught him a few times, caught him with his gaze penetrating through her, getting inside her and trying to figure her out. Each time he was caught, she blushed lightly, not a deep embarrassed crimson color but a light pink, almost like that of a woman after sex. That slight glow, that shyness that he loved.

He had always told himself he would never date a shy girl. He liked a confident, self-assured and strong women. Kyrah was strong, even if she didn't believe it. She was shy and he loved it. It was weird how she was changing him and his perception of all that he thought he wanted.

In his mind, there had always been this ideal woman he wanted to be with. A woman who was deep and funny and beautiful and innocent and sexy was his ideal, his perfect woman. Little things were there in Kyrah, like the way she smiled and laughed, the way she walked and what she was into. His ideal woman was a mixture of the women he had been with, all their most positive aspects, then all the aspects he wanted them to have. That was his perfect woman.

Kyrah was not his perfect woman. She was no where near really. She was different. She had the southern charm and the femininity but she didn't have the confidence. She wasn't the extremely out-going woman he had thought of. She wasn't innocent and she wasn't dumb, not that he wanted a stupid girl but he had always found a woman who was a little ditzy as endearing and sexy for some reason. Kyrah was goofy at times and sheepish but she wasn't ditzy, not at all. He liked it. No, he loved it.

They sat there and ate salad and pizza and drank their wine. They talked about the movie and she asked him about his band, if he still planned to do that, if that was his true passion, if this was just for kicks. Then he asked her about herself, about what she would do if she didn't act or if she decided this wasn't for her, and he asked the cheesiest question he could ask, like her favorite movie. He sat there and watched her talk, watched her face move, her mouth, her eyes brighten as she got excited about something. He listened and watched as she described in full detail how when she was a little girl, she worshiped Julie Andrews, how her first play was The Sound of Music and how she really wanted to do Broadway but that her singing voice wasn't strong enough.

It was then when he wanted her to sing something for him. She blushed again but he couldn't tell if that was because she was pouring them the last bit of wine or because she was embarrassed to sing for him. It was both he soon found out but he wasn't going to let her slide. If she thought she couldn't sing, she would have told him she couldn't sing worth a tune but she didn't say that. He was certain that she could sing at least something if she had done all those plays in high school. He pushed his plate away from him. They had devoured the pizza and salad. He had eaten her crust. He grabbed his glass of wine, came around the table and used his other hand to reach for hers.

"What?"

"Come on. I wanna show you something."

She passed him a playful look. "What if I'm not done?"

He laughed deeply. "Kyrah, you've been done and sitting there staring at me with that little smile for the past 15 minutes."

"So you caught me."

Watching her smile was making him want to get lost in her. He had to stop himself or he knew he was going to misbehave so he looked away, grabbed her hand and tugged her from her seat. "Come on."

He walked her from the kitchen table to the den. They wound their way around the couch and down a big hallway. He kept leading her to where he wanted to take her, where he wanted her to show him if what she said was true. "Where are you taking me? On a tour?" she giggled and he looked back at her. She was looking up at the vaulted ceiling.

"It's not that impressive. It's a huge house, too big sometimes. I almost always have people over though. There's usually someone staying here whether it's my mom and step-dad or Bill or some friends or whatever but it can get lonely when I'm by myself."

"Well, I can help you cure that."

They came to a set of double doors that were closed. He stopped and he dropped her hand. He looked at her for a while, amazed. They were just starting out and she was already that committed to him. He didn't quite know if she was saying she wanted to move in with him, which frightened him but only a little, or if she was saying she wanted to be with him more, spend more time with him and friends and his house and his life. He was pretty sure it was the second. "Really?"

She laughed a little. "I'm living here now in an apartment. Don't get me wrong, it's nicer than anything I had in New York but still it's only like, 3 rooms."

He leaned down and kissed her briefly. He handed her his glass of wine before pulling away, pressing down on both door handles and pulling them towards himself to open. "This is what I want to show you."

It was his fancy music room with his black baby grand piano. The room was sleek but definitely the type of room that was only used for company, the rooms no one was allowed in. Only his piano, a few of his plaques and awards and some of the expensive artwork he had bought were in the room. A nice black couch with matching chairs were in the room but the focal point was the piano.

He loved the room. With the doors closed, he could be in his own world, write music and not bother anyone else in the house. With the doors ope, and the way the hallways were positioned, every part of the house was filled with the notes of the piano. He loved that. It wasn't his favorite room of the house or the most used but it held a special part of him. It was partly because it was his one request and design with the house that he really cared about and really put 100% of his input into it. It was also partly because of the piano, the gift he gave himself to practice learning to play better.

"It's gorgeous," she said, handing him back his glass of deep red liquid. He took a long sip and let the wine coat his insides before walking to the piano, pulling out the bench and sitting down on it.

"You know how to play?" he asked, setting his glass on a ledge of the piano and patting the space beside him hoping she'd join him. She did.

"Eh," she shrugged and mimicked his movements with the wine glass. He started to play lightly, just chords, pressing down on the keys firmly but gently.

"Well, I do," he did a scale and kissed her quickly, puling away with a smile. "I want you to sing."

"Are you serious?" she laughed at him but he only smiled. He wanted to hear her sing, whether it was good or bad or mediocre or pitchy or off key or anything, he wanted to hear her. "I'm not that good."

"But I bet you aren't bad." He played for a moment and she just sat there. He could feel her looking at him. She was giving him a look that was slightly annoyed but mostly amused. "Come on. It's a duet like Sonny and Cher."

She laughed, "Um, that might be bad. They broke up and Sonny died."

"Okay, then, uh- Faith and Tim."

She laughed again and it somehow fit in the music he was playing. "The country singers?"

"Yeah."

"I hate country music."

He let his hands fall roughly down on the keys, making a jarring noise. "You're from North Carolina. You're supposed to like country music!"

"Hey, I like Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and Reba McEntire but that new pop country stuff I can't handle."

"That's acceptable. I don't like country music either," he paused and started playing a soft melody again. "Name something or start singing something."

"Why are you torturing me?"

"It's just me," he nudged her and smiled at her. "Don't be embarrassed."

"But you're a professional."

He couldn't control his laughter. He had a fairly a good singing voice but a professional singer was far from the truth. He only did back up vocals for Bill. "No, I'm an actor."

"Okay, um-" He watched her take a sip of her wine. In reality it wasn't a sip but a large gulp in which she finished off the end of her glass. She was buzzing and he could tell by the way she set the glass down a little too firmly. "What about my favorite song?"

"And that is?"

"Ever listen to Aqualung?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you know Brighter Than Sunshine?"

He smiled. Lately he had been getting into older stuff, more obscure stuff. Aqualung had been top on that list. He messed on the keys for a moment and sang out lightly, "I never understood before..."

"Yeah," she smiled. "That."

"Hmm, let's see." He hummed along to the first bit of the song to figure out the chords and key he needed to use. Soon enough he was playing a little background, just waiting for her to start singing. She was smiling shyly and blushing.

And he had never seen her look more beautiful.

"I never understood before. I never knew what love was for. My heart was broke, my head was sore. What a feeling. Tied up in ancient history, I didn't believe in destiny. I look up, you're standing next to me. What a feeling."

He wasn't going to lie; it wasn't an Aretha Franklin or a Christina Aguilera voice but it was sweet, soft, and reminded him of his grandmother's and how she would hum songs in the kitchen as she made their family lunch on Sundays but Kyrah was singing a love song. It was a song that as he played with her and listened to her sing, made him fall deeper and harder in love with her. There was no point in denying it now. He was in love.

"What a feeling in my soul. Love burns brighter than sunshine, brighter than sunshine. Let the rain fall, I don't care. I'm yours and suddenly you're mine, suddenly you're mine and it's brighter than sunshine. I never saw it happening. I'd given up and given in. I just couldn't take the hurt again. What a feeling. I didn't have the strength to fight. Suddenly, you seems so right. Me and you. What a feeling."

Tom took his right hand off the keys and just played a simple three note chord with is left hand, changing it every four beats. Her hair was hanging against her shoulders and he brushed it out of the way and kissed her there. "Keep singing," he whispered and she did. And he continued to kiss her from her cotton clad shoulder to her bare neck.

"What a feeling in my soul. Love burns brighter than sunshine. It's brighter than sunshine. Let the rain fall, I don't care. I'm yours and suddenly you're mine. Suddenly you're mine. It's brighter than the sun. It's brighter than the sun. It's brighter than the sun, sun, sunshine. Love will remain a mystery but give me your hand and you will see, your heart is keeping time with me... Tom-"

"Shh," he whispered, touching her thigh and kissing her neck right under her jaw. He had stopped playing the piano moments before and completely turned all of his concentration on her. She was a new instrument he wanted to play, one he never wanted to stop playing. He wanted to touch her, gently, firmly, just like he did the keys of the piano. He wanted to make her sing, not literally, but inside. He wanted her body to be with his and he wanted to be inside of her; sexually, spiritually, mentally, any way she'd let him. "Just enjoy it."

They began to kiss and he wanted to be with her. He wanted to take that leap, go down that path with her. For some reason, he just knew that with her there were no dead ends, only scenic views and winding back roads. Maybe a rest stop along the way or a grimy old gas station in the wrong part of town but there were no dead ends and there were never going to be any dead ends.

He was starting his life with Kyrah and restarting himself. A refreshing sense of being came over him, a sense that he hadn't felt in a long time. He had become jaded. It dawned on him. He had become jaded and ungrateful. He'd been more concerned with the negative parts of who he was, what he did, and the reception he got, than concerned the positive parts of life. He forgot that there were still things in life that weren't complicated or tainted and that not everyone was out to get him.

There was Kyrah and that morning, that day, somewhere along the course of the past few hours he looked at her and he felt sparks. That was it.

Her face was in his hands as they kissed and he let his thumbs brush against her cheeks, his fingers wove into her brown hair. He kissed her over and over again and only pulled away when he was about to explode from the need to tell her how he felt. He rested his forehead on hers, closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Kyrah, I-"

"I want to be with you tonight."

He opened his eyes and she was looking into them. It was quiet and he seemed to forget how to breathe or what to say. She didn't say anything more or explain herself or say explicitly what he needed to hear. Did she just say she wants sex? Was that what she meant?"

She bit her lip and it broke into a grin.

"Yeah, that was exactly what she meant."

"Okay," he smiled brightly.

"Okay," she nodded.

He continued to stare at her and she broke into laughter. It was a slightly intoxicated but warm and comforting. He wanted to live inside her laugh and her smile.

"Come on," he kissed her, slow and lingering, then pulled away. He grabbed her hand and stood up. "I'll show you the rest of the house."

He held her hand as he walked with her through the house. He wasn't really showing it all to her. He didn't show her his basement with his gym or his studio and he didn't show her some of his guest rooms. It was mainly just a polite way for him to make his way upstairs to his room. With each step they took, the more his nerves seemed to overcome him. He was certain that he wanted this, that he wanted her and he knew he was no longer falling anymore, he was unequivocally in love with her. He had landed smack down on the bottom of that canyon. It was a gorgeous canyon with a blue river rapidly running through it but when he called out, he was alone and his voice echoed. It was a scary feeling being alone in love. He was sure she wanted him and he knew she was falling but he wasn't sure if she was there yet. He feared that something may pull her up out of that canyon to keep her from joining him.

They had paused in front of the door to his bedroom and he was staring off into space, thinking about how potentially hazardous this could be.

"What's in there?" he barely heard her and just kept staring. "Tom?"

He sucked in a breath and turned to her, grabbing both her hands in his. "You're sure about this, about us? Because, Kyrah, I can't take any more heartache."

Worry was on her face but it soon washed away and she shook her head, smiled and stepped close. "I'm not planning on hurting you."

He felt her arms around him and her head rested against his shoulder. "We're not going too fast are we?" he asked.

"Tom-"

He pulled back and she kissed him with a passion he had felt back on the set, back in the trailer, back when they were having a hard time keeping their hands off each other. She pulled away breathlessly and spoke in a raspy voice, a voice that let him know she was down there in that canyon with him. They were there together. "I want to make love to you."

He gazed into her eyes and he knew everything was in its right place. They were in their right mind and this was the right thing. Even if it had only been a few hours. It could have been a few minutes and this would have been right. Kyrah was right for him in every way and it felt good to be back on that path where he didn't know where he was going but it didn't matter because it was right.

"Then," he laughed and little and took his hand to the door and opened it. "This is my bedroom."

The past few months had been rough on him. He had had success beyond belief but he had changed and he wasn't so sure if he had changed for the best. Today had been a good day, a really good day and he was glad to be Tom Kaulitz. Not the rock star, not the sex symbol, not the wannabe actor but Tom Kaulitz, the man that was about to make love to the woman he was in love with.

It was simple. It was pure. It was right.

And that made him smile.

9 PM

Kyrah was warm and giddy. She felt like she was high but she knew the wine's effect was wearing off. Comfort was what she felt, immense comfort. It was strange. Normally for her, sex had been intense and passionate. A desire would fill her and until she was fulfilled she would be panting, animalistic, begging Mike to give her what she needed. She would be like a maddening craving. She would want it because she was a human, horny and able to have sex.

That's not to say that intensity, passion and desire were vacant in her time with Tom. Just the opposite actually but the need wasn't vulgar and it wasn't a craving that made her feel like she was less than human. It was warm and comforting and easy. She wasn't anxious or desperate as he sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at her with his hands on her hips. It was so right being there with him. She wondered if it was too right, if something was hidden from her, if she had been tricked because nothing in her life had ever been this perfectly right.

It only took half a day. It was all that they needed to find it, to turn themselves around and head in a direction that led straight to each other.

"Kyrah," he whispered her name and held his cheek against her stomach. She slid her fingers through his braids and let him hold her. He was needy of her and she liked that. Mike never did need her. He just used her when he felt like it but Tom needed her. He needed her to be there with him. He needed her to let him hold her without questions asked and she loved being held. "I don't want to rush this," he looked up at her and smiled. "If I start to get too eager, slow me down, okay?"

She smiled back at him and leaned down to kiss him sweetly. "Just let it happen." He kissed her and held her face as her body came down next to his against his bed. They remained like that for a while, her lying against him as he kissed her. It wasn't very comfortable lying sideways on half off of the bed but neither minded for the moment. Neither dared to move from where they were and what they were doing.

He tasted like rich wine and she was grateful to drink him up. She wanted more and she knew that he did as well but he kept her there. He didn't move them, speed up his kissing or get more aggressive. He didn't make a move to carry it any further. It was a little frustrating for her but she didn't mind the frustration and savored what he was doing very slowly and softly to her mouth.

She had changed rapidly, radically and for the better. Whether it was a process that began in New York or with the news of her big break or her arrival in LA or that day with Tom, she didn't know where it began or what the catalyst was but it didn't matter to her. It happened. She had broken down the barriers between herself and life, and made the step to the other side where she could be who she really was and not hide behind a mask of fear and sadness. She could finally be there, lying with Tom, kissing him, letting his hand search her body. She could be happy and carefree.

Kyrah smiled and opened her eyes. He was above her now, lying against her. They had moved more appropriately on the bed and her head was resting on the pillows. He was staring at her, looking deep into her with those dark brown eyes, one hand on her hip, the other stroking her face. Richard had been begging for them to live in the chemistry. Chemistry. It was that thing that was consuming her, eating at her fingertips and toes. There was so much of it when he looked at her, fire and sparks, passion that was uncontrollable and yet somehow not completely reckless.

They weren't reckless. Maybe they were going too fast. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was inconceivable for two people to fall in love so hard so quickly but it happened and it happened easily. There had been a few obstacles and breakdowns during the day but it was only a day and here they were, together. Everything was where it should be.

He smiled at her and pushed himself so that he was sitting up on the mattress, resting on his knees. He pulled her up as well and reached for her shirt. He took off his own and lay back down with her kissing the skin that was now exposed. She lay there peacefully as he gently kissed over her shoulders and the swell of her breasts, then down toward her stomach. It tickled and she kept her hands in his braids or against his shoulders. She could feel his hands working on the fly of her pants as he lightly kissed below her navel. A new surge of feeling came over her and she had a hard time trying to decipher what it was.

Fear was something she prayed would go away but no matter how she tried to push it away, it lingered. She was scared of sex. Not scared of any potential pain or disappointment but something else. She had only been with one other man and even though she had been with Mike countless of times, it didn't make her feel like she was experienced.

It had been two years. Two years of being alone. Two years without this kind of intimacy and even longer that two years to be like this without any guilt or fear of false feelings. It had been a long time and that was what scared her. It was new again and she didn't want to mess up or do the wrong thing and completely ruin whatever was going to happen. For the past few hours, Kyrah had tried to prepare herself for this moment. She knew it was going to happen but it was still overwhelming.

Before she could think much more, she was laying there in her panties and bra and he was standing at the foot of the bed clad in only his grey boxer-briefs. There was a look in his eyes, an animalistic look that didn't scare her but let her know how bad he wanted it. She wondered how she looked to him.

"Kyrah?" She stared at him and he crawled up the bed and laid right beside her, resting on his side and turning her face to his. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He smiled and scooted down against the bed. He got close to her, pulling her against him and into a hug. "Talk to me. I don't want to do this if you aren't really here with me and really wanting to."

She put her arms around him and sighed into his bare chest. "I do want to. I want to so badly."

"Then what are you thinking about?"

She pulled back a little and sat up against the headboard of his bed. "I don't know why but I'm nervous." She looked away from him and down at her hands in her lap. "It's been a long time for me. I need this and I want it with you but I'm a little- I don know- Scared, I guess. Mike is the only other-"

He cut her off, "We don't have to do this tonight. We can just lay here or stop and do something else entirely."

"No," she shook her head and said with a laugh, "I'm having sex with you tonight, damn it." She let out a deep breath and looked at him. He looked worried and she hated that she had made him that way in the middle of their time together. "I just need to calm myself down and clear my mind because it keeps sending me into another world. I'm not thinking bad things, just too many things."

It was quiet for a moment. She felt the bed move and looked over to find him moving back on top of her. He hovered on all fours and smiled at her before dipping in to kiss her briefly. "Maybe I should try harder to keep your mind right here-" He moved to kiss her seductively underneath her ear at the corner of her jaw, "on nothing else but us."

She laughed and moved her head so he could kiss her easily. "I'm thinking about us and myself and everything-"

"Shhh," he kissed her again, deeply this time, stealing her ability to breathe and her ability to think. "You want this, right?" His eyes searched hers and she was even more breathless.

"Y-yes."

"You trust me?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"Then close your eyes and relax," he whispered, then kissed her once more before he moved down to kiss her breasts again. "Just feel me, okay?"

She didn't respond but closed her eyes and did just as he asked. Within moments, he had sneaked his hand in between her back and the bed and removed her of her bra. He kissed her breasts softly, taking his time, touching them gently and kissing the tips of them just enough to make her sigh. His body was resting in between her legs and she pushed against his torso with her hips, trying to get some pressure against herself, trying to get any sort of pleasure between her legs.

With that one movement and him kissing her breasts, she was there, fully aroused, fully ready for him. He had made her mind drift away from thoughts of any kind and made it go to sleep as her body awakened. She wanted him. She wanted him right then but he took his time. He took his precious sweet time, kissing all over her body, making a slow, dangerous, cautious path downward and farther down.

Down.

By the time his fingers were hooked into the sides of her underwear, she was breathing hard with anticipation. She was normally shy about being nude but now she was too excited about what might happen, what was about to happen. Kisses were rained down upon her thighs. He gave her a serious look, then smiled as her panties were discarded and he looked over her body. He continued to kiss her thighs and gently pushed her legs apart.

She knew what he was going to do. She could tell by the way he was inching closer and it bewildered her that something she would have to beg Mike to do and normally was never satisfied with, Tom was doing so easily and willingly. She shook herself mentally and decided that no more thoughts of Mike would enter her mind. He was her only experience with the opposite sex and not a very good experience at that but he had little to do with the man who was now not only kissing her inner thigh but carefully walking two fingers along the inside of the other.

He helped her keep her mind off her past by a quick shift of position and I gentle movement of his hand. She was oblivious to anything else but her body, his mouth and his fingers. It was silent in the room expect for her small sighs and long quiet moans. She opened up to him easily and he worked her delicately. It wasn't crude and it wasn't a crazy thing that they would brag about but it was intense and it was passionate and somehow the quieter it was, the more it made her want to scream and the more it made her want him.

"Does this feel okay?"

She laughed, feeling him breathe against her and touch her more firmly. "God, yes."

"Kyrah." She moved her eyes from the ceiling and released her hands from where they had been gripping the headboard to look down at him. He bit his lip, then shook his head with an astonished smile "You taste so damn good."

He continued on and she threaded her fingers in his braids and pushed him harder against her body. It was getting to a point where she couldn't take anymore but she needed more. He was teasing her, making her feel so damn good. It was perfect and satisfying but it still wasn't enough. She needed him there with her and in her. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible doing this. She wanted it to last and wanted it to be as special as possible. She wanted one of those dreamlike fantasies of hours and hours of foreplay finally ending with both of them breathless and tired. It was what she wanted, what she had been thinking about but the past few hours of the day had been that foreplay and now, even though it had probably been no longer than twenty minutes or so since they had lay down, she was ready for him and didn't want to waste any more time without him.

"Tom," she pulled on his head and reached down to his shoulders. "Stop."

Either he didn't hear her or didn't care. He was kissing her and his fingers continued to thrust deep inside of her and she was dying. She wanted him inside but not that part of him.

"Please," she panted. "Stop."

When he did, she pulled him up against her and kissed him roughly as her hands fumbled at this waistline. He worked at it too and soon she felt nothing but skin against hers. She reached in between their bodies and touched him. He let out a soft groan and pushed himself off her a little so that she had more space to fondle him. He felt solid in her hand; warm, hard and solid. It made her smile.

"I want you," she whispered and pulled her hand away. He quickly maneuvered himself and was settled against her body between her legs. Her body was ready for him and he responded. Nothing was said and nothing was thought of when he entered her gently and quickly.

She wrapped her self around him in every sense and held on tight. She was trying to relax herself for him and was working at it slowly. She knew she was tight. It had been too long and though he felt wonderful there with her, it was not the most comfortable to start with. She knew she would have to get back use to the feeling and hoped he would give her time.

He did give her time. He waited for her and lay his body against hers, breathing heavily with his face in the crook of her neck.

"It's been a while."

"I can tell," he whispered. "Let me know when you're ready."

It was quiet and she listened to his heart and listened to him breathe. She could feel him inside of her, feel his heartbeat down there. It felt good and her body relaxed completely. Every part of it. She was completely ready for him, very ready, and she wanted him to know. She wanted him to know it all.

"Tom," she whispered and kissed his shoulders, tracing the freckles there with her fingertips.

His lips touched her neck and her jaw. "Yes?"

A moment passed and she paused debating on whether she should say it.

"I love you."

His lips paused against her neck and she knew it was too late. There was no going back now, no hiding back in her hole, scared and alone. She had said it. She had put herself out there and now it was all up to him. She just hoped she hadn't ruined whatever they were doing. She knew that he felt it too and knew that he loved her back but she wasn't sure if now was the time to say the words but to hell with what she thought was right and what the world thought was polite. She had said it and nothing would make her feel guilty about it.

"Is that too crazy to say?" she laughed and he looked down at her.

He was shocked but he wasn't upset. He hadn't pulled out of her and he hadn't run away. He just looked at her and smiled.

What was most amazing about it was not that he was still there with her, smiling at her but that she was still there with him, completely comfortable. All her fears had melted away.

"No, it's not." His forehead wrinkled in deep thought and he shook his head. "How does this happen?"

"What?"

"It's only been a day-" His hands framed her face and he looked directly at her in amazement. He couldn't believe what had happened between them and neither could she but she wasn't about to start to complain. " I love you and it's only been a day."

"Does it matter?"

He moved within her slowly and whispered, "Not at all."

She held onto his shoulders and bent her knees, pulling her legs up further against his sides. The movements were slight and slow and they felt so good. Slow moments turned into slow thrusts and her body started reeling from it. It felt so good and she never wanted him to stop. He pulled her slow, pushed her too, meeting her for each languid and liquid meeting of their bodies. Her eyes shut in pleasure and he kissed the base of her neck, then kissed her lips hard.

Slow went away and a quicker pace took over. Harder and deeper he thrust into her. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and her arms moved under his to wrap easier around his back as his body seemed to overcome hers. He was hovering over her, using only his hips to move with her. He started to speed up but then slowed down. He slowed way down, pushing in her so slow and pulling out even slower so that she thought she might just die right there of pleasure.

What a way to go.

With a deep breath, he pushed himself up a bit and clasped his hands with hers, pinning her back against the bed and the pillows. He didn't slow down this time but kept his pace and she tried her best to meet him thrust for thrust but it was hard with all the chaos that was clouding her mind. She felt tense and relaxed, hot and cold, pleasure and pain. She was walking on a tightrope, on the fine line between each of those opposites and, while it was dangerous and exciting, she kept her balance and maintained that line. The sensations were insane.

She could feel herself start to get close and holding onto his hands wasn't enough. She broke away from him, then latched on, wrapping her arms and her legs around him, trying to not just connect sexually but trying to literally merge with him. He was thrusting into her at such a speed and such a pace that she couldn't maintain control.

Suddenly he sat up on his knees, still inside of her, and held onto her hips. She watched him as he gazed appreciatively over her body as he continued, holding on to her hip with one hand and roaming his other hand up over her stomach and in between her breast, then over one, over the other and down again to her hip. She arched her back in response to his touch and reached back to hold on to the headboard.

Before she could get a firm grip, she felt him move again. His arms went behind her back and he lifted her up so that she was straddling his lap, them facing each other as he continued his pace. He held her tight and she held on for dear life. What he was doing to her was indescribable. More than good, more than great, more than fantastic. Her body was going into overload and she soon was at her breaking point.

"Tom, I-" her voice cracked and he shifted, holding tighter.

"I- I know," he kissed her neck and she could feel herself get tenser and tighter.

All the muscles in her body started to contract and she was sure she was about to reach climax. Before she could control herself, before she could think, her body was sent over the edge and she came. Hard, long, and deep. She grinded her hips against his and heard him moan just after she peaked. She felt him explode and heard him grunt low as he held her hips so that she couldn't move.

They both fell back against the bed, breathless and exhausted.

And she began to laugh.

She wasn't funny by any means but an incredible feeling of emotion waved over her like a tidal wave and she didn't know what else to do. She was so happy, so in love, and felt so good that all she could do was curl up beside him and laugh. He rolled himself on his side and molded his body against her. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. I'm not laughing at you."

He paused, "Kyrah-"

"There were just too many emotions going on and happiness, laughter was the predominant one."

He bit his lip and held her tightly. "Really?"

"Yes," she turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him. "It was so good, Tom. So perfect."

She could feel him sigh and didn't know if it was a sigh of exhaustion or relief but felt maybe a bit of both. "I love you, Kyrah," he continued to hold her and rested back on the bed, pulling her with him so she would lie half against his body. "I hope you don't think I'm an ass but I might pass out in a second."

"It's okay. It's been a long day."

"I'm glad we did that."

"Me too," she squeezed herself against him and relaxed. She was tired as well. Her body was exhausted and her mind was thankful for the rest that was about to come. It had been a tiring day in her brain and she was glad that the day was over. Now that it was over with, she looked forward to waking up with him and starting whatever life they had together.

Moments later she heard his breathing deepen. She looked up at him and his eyes were closed and his mouth was a bit slack. Typical man but he was her typical man and she didn't think that him passing out after sex was a bad thing. She found him cute, lying there completely exhausted from their activities. He looked peaceful and she was very content just looking at him.

She lay there a long time before finally drifting off to sleep with him. They hadn't pulled back the covers but she did get up at one point to find them a blanket to cover them with. He had one hanging over the chair in the corner. When she had returned, he had moved to hold her from behind and she smiled as he casually draped his arm over her and sighed in his sleep. She was content, at ease and peaceful and felt that for the first time in a long, long time, she had not a care in the world.

She didn't care what the next day would bring. She didn't care that she had to be at the set the next day or what people might be talking about them or that the alarm clock wasn't set and they might not get up in time. None of it mattered. For the first time, she realized that her happiness was the most important thing in her life. She had sacrificed it for so long and now, finally with Tom, she was truly happy.

More than twelve hours before she had woken up groggy and tired but ready for her day on the set. She was nervous and shy, too timid to really be able to be herself. She was alone and unhappy, putting on a brave front. Her life in New York had been full of depression but not merely because her career was in standby. She was unhappy because she had no one to share her life with. Getting her big break in the entertainment business, moving to LA and starring in this movie hadn't changed that for her. She had still been unhappy, better but not happy.

Then he walked onto set. He had sit by her, made her laugh and smile, made her scared and insecure. She felt sparks and didn't know what to make of them but then a fire was ignited that she couldn't ignore, not roaring and out of control but warming and simple. She fell in love quickly and quietly and suddenly, for the first time in a long time she was intensely happy. It was pure and it was simple.

And nothing was going to change that.

Epilogue

Kyrah wasn't use to it yet. The people, the parties, the SoCal accents telling her how fabulous she was, the inability to truly believe their declarations, the questions, the interest, the clothes: it was all overwhelming. Tom had tried to prep her. He told her that the rush of media, public and industry attention would be mind boggling but his words, kind and helpful as they were, didn't prepare her for this.

"Oh my God! Is that Hugh Grant?"

Kyrah turned her eyes to her agent, who had been acting like a five year old at the zoo, pointing out famous faces and gasping at anything slightly interesting but Kyrah didn't care if Hugh Grant was there or if the president walked in or anything outrageous and exciting happened at the after party. She was searching for a familiar pair of brown eyes. She hoped they were searching for her as well.

The premiere had gone really well. She's spent the day being pampered, having her hair pulled in every direction and makeup piled onto her face. She felt the makeup was a little too much so she actually called Celeste and asked her if she would make an emergency stop at Kyrah's condo to fix the mess. Kyrah had gone to the premiere, stepped out of her limo onto the short red carpet and answered lots of questions, the same ones she had been asked the week before in the press junket. Thankfully some of those interviews during the junket were done with Tom and he had kept her entertained and interested. They tried to keep their flirting down to a minimum. She had a hard time keeping her hands to herself and refraining from her little habits, like touching and holding his arm or poking him in the butt like he hated. He was a complete professional and treated her like a co-worker or a friend. The only thing that gave away anything about them was the looks he passed her way in between interviews.

They had kept their relationship to themselves. Neither of them wanted tabloid headlines or questions about romance to overshadow the work they had put into the movie but now that it was over, now that the release had taken place and only a week of press was left, they were ready to let the world know. They weren't going to announce it but they weren't going to hide it like they had been trying to do.

Early on, they decided to keep things quiet on set. Most people knew and speculated but Tom and Kyrah kept to themselves and didn't publicly show affection. Once the movie wrapped, he swept her away and she was willing to follow. They spent three weeks on a remote island called Petit St. Vincent, getting to know each other even better, falling more and more in love each day and reaching an intensity and a power in their relationship that led to where they were now. Six months later, they considered themselves completely comfortable with each other, an old married couple at times, yet still holding on to all that passion. After Petit St. Vincent, she went back home to North Carolina, spending much needed time with her parents and her sister. She went to New York and tied up her loose ends. She planned to officially and permanently move to Los Angeles, a city she wasn't use to and a city that didn't have charm like New York yet she knew she would have to live there and she knew she would be successful and happy there.

She had made friends through work and through Tom. Her life was looking up, way up. That wasn't to say that she and Tom were perfect or didn't have problems. She found out quickly after their first day together that he could annoy the shit out of her. She found out that he could be smothering, then snap and need to be alone but he never pushed her away and she had found an art in telling him to back off without hurting his feelings. They fit. They fit together really well.

She had met his family on a quick trip to Germany. She realized then, out in the countryside sipping Peach Schnapps with his mother and grandmother and his mother's best friend, that she was going to be with him for the rest of her life. It was unspoken between them but she knew he felt the same.

So far the great thing and the worst thing about the press for this movie was that most of it had been with him. While it was great to be with him a lot of the time and work with him, it was hard to keep the fact that they were together under wraps. All the photo shoots, the questions, even that very night while taking pictures with him on the carpet, sitting beside him in the theater, it was all hard to keep herself from holding on to his hand and to sneak in a kiss.

Petit St. Vincent, Germany and North Carolina had been a time of freedom for them. In Petit St. Vincent, no one cared. It was just the two of them in a lazy, quiet little cottage. They had so much privacy that she still blushed from some of the things he convinced her to do. She couldn't help but think back to that day when he convinced her to have sex on a beach. It was a great idea in the moment but after getting sand in too many inappropriate places, sunburn on her ass and nice bite from a sand mite on her hip, she vowed never to do that again, at least not without a blanket. She giggled and bit her lip as she continued searching over the people in the club, drinking, talking, dancing and having a good time.

"There he is."

She turned to Kelsie and her eyes followed the direction in which Kelsie was looking and pointing. There he was. He was in the center of a group of people, laughing and talking. He had a beer in his hand, shirt sleeves rolled up. His parents were nearby, each with a glass of wine in their hands. Bill was there, talking and laughing with Tom. She sighed and grabbed Kelsie's arm. "Come on."

"No, you go ahead. I'm going to see if I can mingle with Mr. Grant."

Kyrah laughed and started to make her way down from her perch on the upper balcony of the club to the lower portion of the floor. The trip took much longer than she hoped. People kept stopping her, telling her how amazing she was, how awesome the movie was. It was all very flattering and she agreed, the movie was phenomenal. She was proud to be a part of it but she'd had enough ego-feeding and was ready to find her man.

"Kyrah!" she whipped around at the familiar yell of her name in a particularly English tone. "There you are, darling. I just saw Tom. He told me to tell you he was looking for you."

She smiled. "Thanks, Richard. I spotted him."

"See you later. Fun, right?" he half hugged her and kissed her cheek. Richard remained a hard ass with her for much of the shoot but she soon realized he was trying to toughen her up and by the close of the filming, she realized he respected her, trusted her and believed in her more than most of the other people on the set. He just had a strange way of showing it.

She continued to push her way pass people, now deciding to pretend she didn't hear the "Hey, Kyrah!" or "Ky, great job!" or "Come here, Kyrah!" and all other phrases yelled her way. She made a bee line to Tom. She soon found herself standing behind him. No one was looking and he hadn't noticed her. She smiled to herself, moved her hand down and poked him with her finger. He hated that more than anything. He hated being poked and she liked his cute little ass so much she always poked him in one of the cheeks to annoy him.

He jumped a little but didn't turn, "No pokers allowed."

"Guess I'll just go find Hugh Grant with Kelsie," she turned with a smile just in time to see him look over his shoulder.

She felt a hand grip her upper arm and pull her back, whispering against her ear, "Oh, hell no, sexy."

She loved that. She loved how, after all this time, he could still do some small thing or say a few little words to get her going. She joined their circle and talked with them, nudging Tom only once to receive a smile. His hand made its way to her lower back, touching the skin where her back was exposed by the design of the dress. She was quiet during the conversation, unable to get a word in and concentrating on the small circles his fingers rubbed against her skin. It had been a long day, a long week, and she was ready to go home with him, fall asleep and do nothing all day until her Leno appearance, then officially call it quits for a few days.

Her eyes widened a bit. Having stood there for several minutes rather quiet, his fingers started to do their thing. It was his little signal that he wanted her badly. She could feel his fingers walking down lower and lower over her back, over the material of her dress and down to her ass. She quickly pulled away a bit and looked up at him. "Wanna go sit?"

He just grinned.

They easily found a corner table. It was getting late and people were starting to leave or out on the dance floor. She slid into the booth and was thankful for the dark lighting.

He put his arm around her and slouched down into his seat. "I'm ready to blow this place."

She laughed and looked over at him. "We're supposed to mingle and smile and promote."

He bit his lip and stared at her. "We're supposed to be getting naked and taking a relaxing swim in my pool."

"That requires effort."

He kissed her cheek, then her said in her ear, "So does sex."

She sat up and pushed him away with a laugh. "Is that all you think about?"

"No," he took a swig of the beer in his hand and looked at the label. "I'm thinking about how good this beer is too."

She scoffed and pushed him again. "You're an ass."

"Hey!" he pulled her back against him and smiled at her. "You're the one that was poking me."

"Welcome to my world. Usually you're the one poking, just not with your finger."

"Ha ha," His smile dropped and he pulled her tight against him with both his arms around her. "Shut up."

She knew they were being risky with this type of affection in public but he'd had a little too much to drink and the champagne she had been nursing was starting to get to her head as well. It felt good to be against him and to be semi secluded. She wouldn't mind going home with him and going for a swim but she knew that they had an obligation to be at this party. Even though much of the crowd was starting to leave, she felt she needed to stay, needed to talk and promote. It was her first movie and she really didn't know what was expected of her.

As soon as he started to kiss her neck, she thought less and less about what she should do and gave into her wants. "Tom."

He sighed and pulled away a little. "I'm a little drunk so I'm just gonna ask you."

A certain fear ran over her. She stared at him. His eyes gave nothing away. "Ask me what?"

"Wanna move in together?"

"What?" she thought he was joking. She wasn't expecting that. She didn't know what she had been expecting. Maybe something bigger or smaller but whatever it was, now that it was out in the open, moving in together seemed right and she didn't know why they hadn't done it sooner. She stayed with him almost every night or vice versa. It was only rational to take that next step but it was a big step. Moving in together was taking a leap, not just a step. It was sprinting forward to a type of life that screamed commitment. She knew that type of commitment could lead to a certain ceremony and a shiny ring. The more she thought about it, she realized that wasn't such a bad thing.

"I've been thinking about it for the past few weeks but I've been chickening out because I figured you'd turn me down. I know you love your little condo but, well- I've had four beers and some champagne and Bill made me drink a whiskey sour with him and yeah."

"I-"

He cut her off and rubbed his face with a hand. "I'm an idiot, aren't I? I even asked Kelsie what she thought you would say."

She laughed, "And what did she say?"

He smiled at her in return and leaned down close to her face. "That you'd say yes."

She was quiet and stared at him for a moment before looking at the table. She thought for only a few seconds, then it came to her what her answer should be. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the lips, not caring if anyone saw. "Yes, I'd like that."

"That's it?" he stared at her hard. "Yes, you want to?"

She giggled. "You don't believe me?"

"No, I just- I didn't think it'd be that easy."

She put her arms around him and hugged him. "I really want to."

He hugged her back and told her he loved her and she felt at ease. It was a simple answer. She wanted to live with him, she wanted to go that path and find out if they could make it. She felt deep in her heart that they could make it. They weren't perfect and their relationship had its bumps and its problems. They had work to do but she knew they'd be okay. Their love wasn't complicated and it wasn't difficult. She had to work at their relationship, like most people, but she didn't have to work to love him. That was easy, that was natural.

"Great!" he pulled away, kissed her quickly and grabbed her hand. "Let's get out of here and go home. Okay?"

She nodded, smiled and knew then that whether it was her condo, his mansion, his mother's house in Germany, the cottage in Petit St. Vincent, the movie set, his trailer, wherever he was, that was her home and she was so happy to be with him.

She had found him, loved him and knew she'd never give up her dreams, never be lonely, and that she'd never, ever be homesick again.