Prologue
LOG-ON AS ______
The computer screen in front of Priscilla read. She thought for a moment, then typed in a nickname of hers. She was excited, she had finally gotten her own computer, and this was the first time she would be chatting without it being an officially, arranged thing. She had found the perfect chatroom, a Sunset Beach one, and she was hoping that there would be a lot of people in there. The room took it’s time loading, so she had a long wait. When the blue screen finally appeared, she saw a long list of words scrolling down the screen. Over to the side, there as a box naming everyone in the chatroom. She grinned at the names.
Stari
Shera
Munkey
Jennifer
Deidre
Chaz
Gabbie
DWHater
Honey
kitty
“Looks like fun!” She saw her name enter the box, and to her surprise, everyone said hey, like they all knew her. She quickly replied to them.
Gabby girl: Hey everyone!
Shera: Hey! What’s up, Gabby girl?
Gabby Girl: Not much. So, all of you watch Sunset Beach?
Munkey: Yep! We all LOVE Antonio…..don’t we?
Stari: YEAH!!!!!!
Jennifer: And his…..Weaponry!
Gabby girl: Am I missing something here…. his ‘weaponry’????
DWHater: The part of him that Gabi really does love…. though you can’t blame her!
Gabby girl: You talk about that stuff in here?????
Jennifer: All the time! Are you on the antonio-n-gabi list?
Gabby girl: No…what’s that?
Stari: The onelist mailing list, Antonio-n-Gabi…you should join, if you like Antonio…it’s a very cool list.
Gabby girl: I might do that…so, what else do you guys talk about?
Honey: Everything. Anything. What ever’s going on.
Munkey: Which is usually…. Antonio’s gun!!!
Shera: Get your mind out of the gutter! You’re pulling mine in!
Munkey: Good! I need some company!!
Jennifer: I’m not enough company? I’ve been in the gutter since I joined this list!
Stari: That’s because you influence us with those love scenes…..
Gabby girl: Love scenes??
Shera: Yeah, Jennifer writes amazing love scenes
in her Antonio and Gabi fanfic stories.
Priscilla sat back in her chair and looked at the screen, grinning. She couldn’t believe that these people really liked her enough to write stories about her! Well, not exactly about her, but about her character!! She’d never really realized how popular Gabi was. But these people seemed almost obsessed! She loved it. They were so friendly, too.
Gabby girl: Wow…you guys sound like you have a lot of fun on your list.
Kitty: We do!
Deidre: Yeah, you should join! It’s a lot of fun.
She considered going to onelist right now and joining, it would be fun to see what these people thought of her, but after glancing at her watch, she realized that she didn’t have enough time to. She had to be at the studio for taping in half an hour.
Gabby girl: Well, it’s fun talking to you guys, but I have to go now.
Shera: Bye!
Jennifer: Come back soon, we’re usually in here.
Stari: bye
Deidra: TTYL
Kitty: bye
Honey: bye
Munkey: good-bye!
[Gabby girl has left the room]
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter One
“Hey, Nick!” Priscilla called out as she saw her castmate and one of her best friends.
“Hey, Prissy.” He grinned as he used the nickname that just about everyone had been banned from using. Except Nick, she never really minded him calling her that. “What’s up?”
“There’s this thing I found online last night that I want to tell you about! It’s a ch-“ Before she could finish, the director called out to them.
“Nick, Priscilla! Hurry up, you’re shooting next!” The loud voice came through the them just as she was about to tell Nick about the chatroom she had found.
“Tell me later, okay?” She nodded and they went over to shoot the scene.
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“Finally! I didn’t think he’d ever let us go!” Nick complained as they walked toward the studio’s exit hours later.
“They just want everything to be perfect, so we won’t be put out of a job.” She reminded him why they had to work so hard, even though all of the extra hours spent finding every fault in their acting didn’t really seem to be making much of a difference. Sunset Beach’s ratings were last every single week, just like they had been for months now.
“I guess so. But still, I hate not coming home until midnight because we had to stay late for a last minute re-write of the script.” This was an everyday conversation between them by now. He complained about how hard they worked, and she reminded him that they were lucky to be working at all.
“I’m sure Skylla hates it, too.” She said. He visibly stiffened at the mention of his longtime girlfriend. “What’s the matter, did you and Skylla have a fight?”
“No…not really. She won’t know tonight though. She’s out of town, visiting her sister.” By now, they had reached the parking lot and were standing beside Priscilla’s little silver car.
“Oh, you miss her? Is that what’s wrong?” She asked, knowing that there was something bothering him.
“Uh…yeah.” That wasn’t really it, but it sounded good, and Priscilla seemed to accept it. Nick didn’t want her worrying about him.
“That’s too bad. Hey, why don’t you come over to my place! We can have a late dinner, and I can tell you about the chatroom I found.” She suggested, wanting to cheer him up. And it worked.
“That’d be great, if you’re sure you don’t mind. I don’t want to ruin any plans you have.” He knew she’d been dating some guy on and off for a while now, and the last thing he wanted was to interfere, but spending time with Priscilla always made him feel better. She was such an outgoing person, you couldn’t help but feel happy near her.
“Of course I don’t mind! Trust me, I don’t have any plans.” She grabbed his hand, and he was surprised by the shock that ran through his body at the all too brief contact between them. “We can go in my car, and you can come back to pick yours up earlier!”
“If your sure you don’t mind.” He said, still a little hesitant to go with her. He just wanted to be sure. She was the kind of person that wouldn’t let you know even if you were interfering with anything.
“Come on, Nick! Of course I don’t mind. Now, get in the car.” She ordered with a grin, and he did as she said.
After about a twenty-minute drive, they pulled up in front of the apartment complex that Priscilla stayed at. The drive had gone by rather quickly, and it had been just the relaxant that Nick had needed, after his rather stressful day.
“Excuse the mess, I haven’t exactly gotten around to cleaning.” She explained as they stepped into the small, messy living room. Clothes were flung everywhere, and last nights take out was spread across the kitchen table, which was only a few feet away from the couch.
“Hmm….you know, that’s the exact same thing you said last time I came over.” He said and she grinned at him guiltily.
“Okay, so I not a neat freak like some people I know…” She poked him in the chest and he hung his head in exaggerated guilt. “Oh, get that adorable puppy dog look off your face. It’s not going to work with me, Mr. Kiriazas!”
He raised his head slightly and pouted.
“It’s not going to work!” She exclaimed, even though it already was. “Nick!! Stop it! That is so cute…it could be used as a weapon!”
“Who says it isn’t already? A weapon of the heart…” He grinned mischievously.
“Really? I’ll just have to ask Skylla about that.” His grin instantly faded. “I’m sorry, Nick. I’m here to cheer you up, and I’m just making you feel worse. You must really miss her.”
Priscilla felt a tug of jealousy. She wanted to have someone that would miss her that much when she went out of town. Someone to be waiting at home for her when she got back. Someone like Nick…..
“Yeah….” He was seriously debating telling her the real reason Skylla wasn’t around. But that would only make Priscilla pity him, and he didn’t want that. “So, tell me about this amazing chatroom you found. What’s it about?”
“Us!” She exclaimed, pushing a couple of buttons and bringing the computer that sat on her desk to life. “It’s a chatroom about Antonio and Gabi, but they talk about us! Or, they talk about you!!”
“Us? Me? Well…what do they say?” He was curious. Shawn had told them about all of the Sunset Beach stuff there was on the Internet, but he’d never really considered what they said about him.
“ A lot of stuff. They write stories about Antonio and Gabi, and they talk about you a lot!! How fine you are, you’re eyes, you’re…” She realized that she was embarrassing him, and stopped.” I found a few websites on you, too. Do you want to check them out?”
“Sure.” By now, the computer had finished loading, and Priscilla activated the Internet.
“There’s a chair over there, why don’t you
grab it?” She pointed, and Nick grabbed it. Before long, they were online
and cruising all of the SB sites they could find. It was the most fun Nick
had had in a very long time.
“Here it is!” She found the chatroom she’d
been on earlier. “What should our name be?”
“Name? I don’t know….” He said vaguely. “You think of something.”
“Come on, Nick! I know you’re more creative than that. Thing of something that tells who we are!” She said enthusiastically.
"Umm… SBpeople?” He suggested. He was more than a little distracted, and he had a feeling that she was beginning to notice.
“Okay, we’ll be SBpeople.” Priscilla said, typing the name into the text box, then she clicked on enter. There were fewer people than before.
Jennifer
C. Chambers Fan
Munkey
Melina
Alia
Stari
SB people: Hey everyone!
Jennifer: Hey SBpeople
C. Chambers Fan: Hi!
Insomniac: Allo Allo =)
Melina: Hello SBpeople
Jennifer: Which SBpeople are you guys? [joking]
SBpeople: We are Nick and Priscilla
C. Chambers Fan: Yeah, right LOL
SBpeople: No, really!! I (Priscilla) was on here earlier, as Gabby Girl
Jennifer: Gabby girl? But….come on, you don’t expect us to really believe you’re Priscilla Garita, and Nick Kiriazas do you?
SBpeople: yeah. Because we are.
“They don’t believe us.” Priscilla said. She wondered if a lot of people came in the chat saying that they were them.
“Tell them to test us.” Nick grinned at her. “Or tell them what’s going to happen on the show.”
“Nick! We could get fired if we do that!” She exclaimed, wondering if he was kidding, or he really meant it.
“Come on, Prissy, live a little. We may be
out of a job soon, anyway, right?” The mischievous glint in his eye gave
away nothing. She came to her own conclusions that he wasn’t serious.
SBpeople: So why don’t you test us? We ARE Nick and Priscilla, so we can answer anything you ask about us.
Jennifer: Hmmm….let me think of something.
<<Munkey to Jennifer>> Ask how big his gun is!!! I dare you.
C. Chambers Fan: Tell us what’s going to happen on the show.
<<Jennifer to Munkey>> You dare me? Well, I guess I have to then! Hehe….
SBpeople: We can’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen, or we might be fired. But we can tell you it’s something good if you like Antonio and Gabi together.
Jennifer: Nick….tell us how big your….gun….is.
<<C. Chambers Fan to Jennifer>> I can’t believe you asked that!!!!!!!!!!LMAO!!!!!!
“Gun?” Nick asked, confused. Then he saw Priscilla’s stifling laughter. “They don’t mean my…..do they?”
“Tell the fans what they want, Nick!” She couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer as she saw the look on Nick’s face. “Come on, answer them! You’re not ashamed…are you?”
“No!” He answered quickly, defending his male pride, then began typing in a response. “Of course I’m not. I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about.”
SBpeople: Well, Jennifer….that’s certainly a personal question. I think my ex girlfriend Skylla would be a better person to ask that. She would be more….judgmental!
Melina: Did you say EX???? You DUMPED her???
“Yeah, Nick. What do you mean, ex?” He
only then remembered that he hadn’t told Prissy….or anyone, for that matter,
about his break up with Skylla
“Look, Prissy, I’m sorry I didn’t tell
you earlier, but…” Nick started to apologize, but Priscilla cut him off.
“That’s okay, Nick. I mean, it’s not really any of my business anyway, right?” She said, but he could tell that she was hurt. He felt awful for not telling her now.
SBpeople: Yep…..that’s an exclusive. It just happened last night. And, I didn’t dump her. We…agreed to break up.
Alia: So…are you sure you can’t tell us anymore about the show?
SBpeople: Positive. But you can tell us more about this mailing list you’re on. Are there a lot of A/G fans on there?
Stari: About 130
SBpeople: WOW….do all of them write stories?
Jennifer: No, only a few. About 20 I think.
But ALL of the stories are good!
Their chat went on like this for some time, with Nick and Priscilla getting everyone’s opinion on everything, from other characters to hairstyles. Priscilla was a little unhappy to find out that Gabi’s nickname was Demon Whore, but everyone reassured her that it had nothing to do with the way she was acting, and that as soon as Gabi got together with Antonio, that the nickname would disappear.
“Prissy, I better get home soon. It’s nearly midnight, and it’s storming outside.” Nick said after a few hours of chatting. By then everyone believed them when they said who they were.
SBpeople: Well, guys, we’ve got to go.
Alia: Will you come back?
Munkey: Yeah! You’ve got to come back and answer some more questions for us.
SBpeople: We will!
Jennifer: good! Bye then
Melina: bye!!!
Stari: hey Nick, what’s Skylla’s email address? We’re going to ask her about your gun….=P
SBpeople: she doesn’t have one….haha….you’ll just have to imagine…..
[SBpeople has left the room]
Priscilla disconnected from the Internet and shut the computer down.
“I hadn’t realized that it was so late.” She commented. “Do you want something to drink before you leave?”
“Sure,” Nick answered her. “That’d be nice. I hope the roads aren’t too slippery out there.”
Just then a crash of thunder, followed by a bolt of lightening that lit up the sky like 4th of July fireworks covered the sky. Rain could be heard pounding down onto the pavement, and the lights began to flicker.
“Oh, no. I hope the electricity doesn’t go out. You’ll never make it home with the streetlights off.” Just then, the lights flicked on and off again, staying off a little longer this time. “I’m going to get a flashlight, just in case the power does go out.”
Priscilla set the drinks she had been preparing down and walked into her bedroom. As soon as she disappeared into the doorway, the lights went out again. And this time, they didn’t come back on.
Nick was standing in the middle of the kitchen, and he could hear nothing but vague rattling coming from Priscilla’s room.
“Prissy? You need some help?” He made his way to the door of her bedroom, stumbling in the darkness. “Pris-“
“OW!!” She shouted as he banged into her.
“I’m sorry! I thought you were still looking for a light.” Nick quickly apologized. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay…sorry I yelled, you just surprised me. I found a flashlight, but it doesn’t have any batteries.” She moved her hand out, trying to find him. Neither of them could see anything at all. “Where are you, Nick? I …are you there?”
“I’m right here….” He held out his hand, also trying to find her. His arm made contact with skin abruptly, and he grabbed on to Priscilla’s arm. “Here I am.”
“Good. I…I know this is going to sound like I’m a baby, but I’m kind of afraid of the dark. Only in storms like this….but it still freaks me out.” Nick heard the tremor of fear in her voice and moved his arm around her shoulders hesitantly. They made their way to the couch, and sat, waiting for the power to come back on.
“I used to be afraid of the dark…not just in storms. All of the time. When I was a kid, I wouldn’t go to any overnight parties or campouts because I didn’t want anyone to see me cry. I slept with….and don’t you laugh, because I know you’re going to….I slept with a teddy bear nightlight. It was a stuffed animal with a plastic covering on it’s stomach that had a light inside of it. I never slept without it.” Nick said. “Hey! I told you not to laugh!”
“Sorry…I just can’t imagine you…crying because you were afraid of the dark. That’s so cute! So... how did you get over it?” She asked, still giggling.
“What do you mean, get over it? I’m just having so much fun comforting you that I don’t have time to be scared!” She laughed even more to that. Even though she couldn’t see him, and she knew that, she raised her head as if looking into her eyes. And he lowered his face at the same moment. A shock went through then as their lips met suddenly. Both of them were surprised, too surprised to anything but what they already were doing. Her mouth opened slightly under his probing lips, and he moved his hands around her tiny waist, pulling her close. This felt so right….
Her hands were running through his hair, her body on fire as he touched her with an expert lover’s care. They had lost themselves in each other’s arms, and they didn’t want to be found.
Then, the lights came back on. In a flash, they could see again, and they tore themselves out of each other’s arms. Staring awkwardly, Nick spoke first.
“I…I should go.” He stood up abruptly. Grabbing his jacket, he raced out the door, leaving Priscilla to wonder what had just happened.
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Two
Priscilla was walking along the set, concentrating completely on the script in her hands. She was so involved in learning her lines, that she walked right into someone…
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t look-“ She stopped abruptly. “Nick!”
“Priscilla. Hello.” He said, in a voice that was almost cold.
“Nick, we need to talk about what happened last night.” Priscilla said, ad she reached out for his arm. To her surprise, he jerked it away before she could touch him. “Nick, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just in a hurry. We can talk later.” He said briskly.
“But, Nick, we need to talk about what happe-“ She started to say to him, but he cut her off before she could even finish the question.
“I said no, Priscilla! Just drop it.” He said harshly and walked away from her.
As he walked away, Nick felt absolutely horrible. He knew that it was wrong for him to hurt Priscilla like this, but there was no way that she could know what was going on with him. He only hoped that she would forgive him. If he ever had a chance to explain.
Priscilla watched him walk away and forced back hot, angry tears. She shouldn’t be this upset, she tried to tell herself. Nick was only a friend. A good friend, but still only a friend. And that kiss probably meant absolutely nothing to him. He was just getting over a long relationship with a girl he really loved. It was just a rebound kiss, she tried to convince her self. That’s all it was to him. But there was no denying that she had felt something amazing when he had kissed her. And it was something that she wanted to feel again, whether she admitted it to herself or not.
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“G…Gabi…where is…my…my brother….I want to see….Antonio…I want to see….see him…now.” Hank said in Ricardo’s slow, impaired method. Priscilla’s line was next, and she was ashamed to realize that she had no idea what her line was.
“Antonio is….I… I have no idea.” She said softly, knowing that that was not the right line.
“Cut…” The director called, then walked over to where Priscilla stood. “That’s the third time that you’ve forgotten your line in the past twenty minutes. Why don’t we take five? You can study the script a little more, Priscilla.”
She felt absolutely awful, and totally embarrassed. All day long she had been distracted, irritated and forgetting a lot of her lines.
“What’s wrong, Priscilla?” Hank asked her as he stood up, stretching after spending the last twenty minutes in a wheel chair. He looked worried about her. And about Nick. He’d had scenes with both of them, and they were acting very…..unusual. Of course, he wasn’t going to say anything to Priscilla about Nick, but he still wondered.
“Nothing, Hank. I’m fine.” Her tone suggested
otherwise, but she wasn’t going to explain her actions, not even for a
friend like Hank. After all, he was Nick’s friend, too. And Nick seemed
to be angry enough with her as it was. Though she didn’t want to admit
it, his response to her request to talk about what had happened had shaken
her.
Priscilla ran to her dressing room, the only
place where she could seem to get away. She felt like crying. She had started
out the morning by being her usual optimistic self, saying that she would
find Nick, and they would talk everything out. Then she tried. And everything
had gone downhill from there.
The five minutes passed quickly, too quickly
for her. Briefly, Priscilla considered saying she was sick and going home,
but she couldn’t do that. It would just mean more work tomorrow. She picked
up her script, trying to emblazon the lines in her memory, and went out
to try and get it right this time.
This time she got her lines right the first time, thankfully, but then, when she found out what the next scene they were shooting was, and who it was with, her confidence that she could get through the day failed her. Her next scene was with Nick – and it was a love scene.
Nick had just realized it too, and he felt like his stomach was about to fall to his knees. He had to go up in front of everyone and passionately kiss Priscilla. More than once. *Well, at least you have practice at it* his traitorous mind thought with a touch of bitterness.
He walked up to the side of the stage, and he had a perfect view of Priscilla. She was sitting on the set, going over her lines. Not that there would be many in this scene. It was your basic red-hot love scene, not many words exchanged. Gabi was supposed to be heartbroken over Ricardo, run to Antonio, he would comfort her, they would kiss, and proceed to make passionate love in his room at the mission.
Nick watched her as she intently studied the pages in front of her. She’s so beautiful…he though, unable to tear his eyes away from her figure.
“What are you doing standing around, Nick?” The director approached him. “I told you to find Priscilla and practice, not watch her like a lovesick schoolboy.”
The fact that Nick’s face reddened slightly did not go unnoticed. “Come on, you’ve got twenty minutes, at the most.”
As the director walked off, Nick slowly walked over to Priscilla.
“Hey, Priss- Priscilla. Can we practice out next scene?” Nick said awkwardly. He did feel like a schoolboy. Nervous and scared.
“Nick! I….yeah. Why don’t we go to my dressing room, though? It’s pretty noisy out here.” Nick nodded in agreement, though he was a little unsure about what would happen if he let himself be in a room alone with Priscilla.
“So….” Priscilla began as Nick closed the door behind them.
“So….” He mimicked. Neither of them knew what to say too the other. “Should we-“
“Let’s-“ They both began at the same time after a few moments of silence.
“Go ahead.” Nick said, encouraging her to finish what she had been going to say.
“I was just saying that we only have a few minutes left, and we should practice out lines.” She finished, her eyes glued to the floor.
“Yeah….” Nick agreed, fixing his gaze on something just over her head. They were both avoiding looking at each other. “So, where do you want to begin at?”
“Um..I don’t know….” Priscilla didn’t really want to begin at all, but she had no choice. “How about at the top? Where Gabi comes in the room.”
“Okay.” Nick said in an unsure voice. Priscilla walked closer to him, and began to say her line, shakily, but she found that she could remember nothing. Except the way his mouth had felt on hers….
“Nick…” She whispered softly. She was standing so close to him that he could feel her breath fanning his face.
“Yes?” He answered in a strangely deep voice. Priscilla’s knees felt weak, and her heart was pounding. Every tangible thought flew out of her head as she stood up as high as she could, raising her head slightly. “Priscilla…”
“Nick…I…”She began to say then he realized what she was about to do. Unable to let himself do this again, he stiffened visibly and stepped back. Disappointment flashed across Priscilla’s face, but she was quick to hide it. She took a deep breath and began again. “I think our time’s up. We’d better get out to the set.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Nick was relieved that he wouldn’t have to be alone with her any longer. He had almost lost control. She moved quickly over to the door.
“Great, you two are on time for once. Hope you know your lines this time. Both of you.” Someone commented from behind them.
A few minutes later, the sat had been darkened for the night affect, and Priscilla was standing awkwardly in Nick’s arms. They had done scenes like this before, and it had always come easily, because they were both good actors and good friends, too. It was always easier to act with people you knew. But this time, it was different. It was as if they were strangers. Nick seemed like he was almost afraid to touch Priscilla, and she was so nervous that she wasn’t sure she would be able to remember any of her lines. But, luckily, she did get them right.
“Gabi…Gabi, look at me. Everything’s going to be fine. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to your relationship with Ricardo…” Nick said, somehow managing to fake looking her in the eyes. He was afraid of what he might see in them.
“Antonio…it’s not my relationship with Ricardo I’m worried about. It’s…” Priscilla paused, searching her memory for the line. “It’s my relationship with you that I don’t want to loose because of this.”
“Don’t worry about that, Gabi. You don’t have to. Because….” This time it was Nick that’s mind suddenly blanked. “Because….I’m going to be there for you, no matter what happens.”
“Will you, Antonio?” That was the last of Priscilla’s lines. In just a few seconds, his lips would touch hers…
Nick’s heart was pounding as he lowered his mouth down to hers. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see the look on her face…
“OW!!” Priscilla shouted as his nose hit hers. Nick jerked his face back, feeling embarrassed.
“Sorry.” He muttered. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” She said sharply as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m fine.”
“Okay, take two. Start off with the kiss.” The director shouted out. He knew how unsteady they had both been today, and the dialogue they had shot before would do.
“This time keep your eyes open.” Priscilla whispered under her breath.
“If you’d kept yours open, this wouldn’t have happened.” Nick whispered back to her. He knew she hadn’t been looking either.
“Yeah, but you were the one moving your face down!” She said back, not bothering to whisper this time.
“And you were the one just standing there!” Nick shouted angrily. He knew it probably was his fault, but he was so angry….
“Now you’re blaming me for YOU hitting MY nose?” She matched his shout with one of her own.
“Hey, you cut it out, We’re on a schedule here.” The director shouted
Nick did as she said, this time keeping both eyes on her, and lowered his face down to hers. There lips met softly, and for a few minutes, it was okay. When it began to become a little more, he stepped back. They were both relieved that they had not done anything regrettable.
“Do it again, more passion. She’s not your sister, Nick! Come on, you’re supposed to be madly in love with her. Show her!” Nick heart pounded for a second. Could he know…? Then he realized that the director was talking about Antonio and Gabi, not him and Priscilla.
Nick braced himself for another kiss, and lowered his mouth to hers again. This time he allowed a little of the passion he felt towards her to be shown, and Priscilla felt it. She readily responded, moving closer to him. This was rapidly becoming more than a stage kiss…and Nick had no idea how to stop it. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her into him, and his tongue invaded her mouth.
“Ohhh.” She moaned softly against his mouth. This was what she wanted….and she knew he was feeling it, too.
“CUT! You can stop now!!” The director shouted, obviously not for the first time. Nick pulled away from a breathless Priscilla. He couldn’t believe he had just done that. At least I had a reason this time… he defended himself. *It was just a stage kiss* He told himself *That’s all. You felt nothing* Well, even if he did, he didn’t have to let Priscilla know.
“That was great, you two! Perfect. I think we’ve got all we need for today. If you don’t have any more scenes to shoot, you’re free to go.” They were told. Nick immediately took off to go change and leave the studio, but Priscilla grabbed his arm.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” She said, her hand still on his arm. He reached down and gently removed it.
“What do we need to talk about?” He asked.
“About what just happened….” Priscilla said unsurely. He had felt the same thing she had, hadn’t he? He wasn’t THAT good of an actor…. was he?
“Nothing happened, Priscilla. We shot
a scene. That’s all.” He said to her. His heart ached as pain washed across
her face. He felt terrible for hurting her, again. But he could not start
a relationship with this woman. She would only be hurt more if her did.
And the last thing Nick wanted was to hurt Priscilla.
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Three
Priscilla had been hurt, and confused over Nick’s actions toward her as she left the studio, but in the ride to her apartment, her hurt had turned to anger. How dare Nick kiss her like that and say it was nothing! Even if he hadn’t felt anything when they were shooting, he certainly had at her apartment, or he wouldn’t have kept kissing her like that.
She knew he was using her to get over Skylla, she just knew it. And she was not going to let any man, not even Nick, do that to her. She would have helped him get over his girlfriend, sure, but as a friend, not as a quick fling.
Yet that didn’t change the fact that she did feel something for him. Something strong.
“Oh, God, why is this happening to me?” Priscilla groaned as she walked into her apartment. She sank down onto the couch, head resting pitifully in her hands. “Of all the guys on the show to fall for, I have to go for Nick Kiriazas.”
She wanted to talk to someone about it. She briefly entertained the thought of calling Shawn or Christina, but they both had great relationships going on in their lives. They could only listen patiently, and sympathize. Priscilla wanted someone to help her. She needed…advice. All of a sudden, she knew who she could ask. It may not be of much help, but it would certainly be fun! Much more fun sitting around sulking by herself.
Priscilla logged on to the Internet, quickly arriving at the chat she had bookmarked the day before.
[Priscilla has entered the room]
There was a good number of people in the chat, she noted. A few that she had chatted with before.
Jennifer
Munkey
Stari
C. Chambers Fan
Alia
Amanda
Deb
Jennifer: Hey Priscilla…are you THE Priscilla?
C. Chambers Fan: THE Priscilla that was in here the other day?
Priscilla: If you mean Gabby girl, one of the SBpeople, then yes, I’m THE Priscilla!
Munkey: Allo, Allo!!
Alia: Hey! Do you mean you’re….Priscilla G.?
Priscilla: Yup. The one and only (I hope =P)
Deb: Hey Priscilla!
Stari: W/B!! Priscilla. Is Nick with you….=)
C. Chambers Fan: I hope he is….
Priscilla: Nope, sorry! I’m alone this time. I came because I need some help.
Amanda: What kind of help?
Priscilla: Love life help…..what would you do if you kissed someone you worked with?
Jennifer: Well….that depends.
Priscilla: On what???
Munkey: On who you kissed, of course!
Stari: Was it….Nick?
C. Chambers Fan: If it was, then I have one piece of advice….GO FOR HIM!!!
Priscilla: I’m going to neither confirm nor deny that it is Nick….but I CAN’T go for him…=( He just broke up with his girlfriend…
<<Jennifer to Stari>> It was Nick!!
<<Stari to Jennifer>> Yep!
Deb: So you think he’s just on the rebound?
Priscilla: Yeah…=( it probably meant nothing to him.
Amanda: Has he showed any other interest in you? Other than kissing you?
Priscilla: Well…we kissed again today…but it was just a stage kiss….I can’t be sure that it meant anything to him.
<<Munkey to C. Chambers Fan>> WAIT A MINUTE….STAGE KISS???? Does that mean ANTONIO AND GABI KISS??????
<<Stari to Deb>> STAGE KISS!!!!!!!!!! Antonio and Gabi kiss!!!!!
<<C. Chambers Fan to Munkey>> YEAH!!!!! I REALLY REALLY HOPE SO!!!!!
<<Alia to Amanda>> A & G Kiss!! WHOOHOO!!!!
<<Deb to Stari>> YEAH!!!!!!! =P
<<Amanda to Alia>> WHOOHOO!!!! KISSKISSKISS!!!!!
Jennifer: I think you should ask him.
Priscilla: I can’t! He won’t talk to me!!
Deb: Then he doesn’t deserve you
<<Deb to Munkey>> I REALLY hope this isn’t OUR NICK!!
Priscilla: Maybe not….but I still like him…
Amanda: IA with Jennifer. MAKE him talk to you!
Priscilla: Thank you!! I have to go now, though!
I really appreciate the advice!
[Priscilla has left the room]
Priscilla had made up her mind to confront Nick. After talking to these friendly, and hopefully love-smart, people, she had decided that they were right. She was going to make Nick talk to her!
It didn’t take her but about 20 minutes to reach Nick’s apartment. Especially with her doing about 15 miles over the speed limit. She had a plan now, and she couldn’t wait to see what Nick had to say to her. She would demand an explanation for his cold reaction to their kisses, their very hot kisses in Priscilla’s opinion.
As she sped down the highway, her mind wandered to what his reaction would be. Maybe he would take her into his arms, apologize to her, profess his undying, everlasting love…then they would make love…sweet, beautiful love…
But maybe he would kick her out without even giving her an explanation. The thought drove out her fantasies of spending the night with Nick. Chances were he would be just as cold as he had been at the studio.
Then again… Priscilla realized that she was about to drive herself crazy with these scenarios. She tried to concentrate on something other than his dreamy, soulful eyes…but it was very hard…
Before she knew it, Priscilla was pulling into the parking lot in front of the apartment building Nick lived at. Her heart was going 90 to nothing, and her palms were damp as she dredged up her courage and opened the car door. Just as she was about to get out, she saw Nick step outside. Just the sight of him, in a tight black T-shirt…tight jeans…it made her heart rate accelerate.
Then she saw what he was doing outside. He was greeting someone…a woman…greeting her with a very intimate hug. And Priscilla recognized the woman all too clearly.
It was Skylla.
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Four
Priscilla couldn't believe what she was seeing. Nick…the man she had passionately kissed only a couple of hours ago…embracing his ex girlfriend. Angry tears gathered in her eyes as she watched them. Slowly, she climbed back into her car, not wanting Nick to spot her watching him. But he did.
He quickly let go of Skylla, surprising her by running down the parking lot after a woman whom she couldn't really see that was driving away.
"Priscilla!" He shouted to her. He couldn't believe that this was happening. She had seen him and Skylla, and had probably jumped to the wrong conclusion. Not that he blamed her. He realized what it had looked like.
She was gone before he had a chance to call her back. He wanted to explain to her what had really been going on. Then again, to explain to her would call for him to know himself what was going on.
"Nick! Where are you going?" Skylla ran to him, meeting him as he walked back up toward her. "Who was that?"
"That was who I asked you to come here to talk about." He said.
"What? I though you asked me here to…well…to get back together." She was embarrassed that she had assumed the wrong thing.
"Skylla, I'm sorry, I guess I should have made it clear when I called you. I needed to tell you…I wanted you to find out from me, before anyone else, that I am in love. With another woman." He said, shamed. "And I have been, for a while. I'm sorry."
"Well." She stated, surprised by his confession. "I…I guess I should be glad that you did have the courage to tell me. I can't really say that I appreciate you cheating on me, but…"
"I never cheated on you, Skylla. Not once. It was only after we broke up."
"WE didn't break up, you dumped me."
"After we broke up," He continued, "I began to think she may have feelings for me, too. Something…something happened between us."
Skylla could see that he truly didn't want to hurt her, but the pain was still there.
"I'm sorry, Skylla, I really did love you once." He said to her.
"But now you love her." She stated painfully.
"Yeah." Skylla forced back the tears that were threatening to take over.
"Well…I hope things work out for you. You deserve it, Nick." He was quite surprised by her willingness to let him go. When he had initially told him that he wanted to end their relationship, she hadn't taken it so well.
"Thanks. Look, I have to…I really need to…" He tried to say, but couldn't find the words.
"Go after her." Skylla stated, and Nick graciously nodded. "Well, go on then. Don't let me keep you."
After a quick, tight hug, Nick took off after
Priscilla, leaving Skylla alone in front of the apartment building. She
glared at the scene as she watched him chase after the woman that Skylla
was determined not to lose him to.
Nick sped down the highway at speeds as fast as he could go, desperately tailing Priscilla, who had yet to see him, and trying not to wreck. He wanted to explain to her that he had just been tying up some loose ends with his ex, not reconciliating, like she had probably assumed. And he wanted to confess to her what he had been hiding for so long. The reason that he had been so effected by the kiss they had shared.
He followed her all the way to her apartment, with her still not seeing him, and when she got out of her car he began to follow. He stopped abruptly, heart aching, when he saw her sobbing. Because of him.
"Priscilla!" He called out to her. He saw her stiffen when she recognized the voice, but she didn't turn. Probably because she didn't want him to see her crying. "Come on, Prissy! At least give me the chance to explain!"
"Explain what?" She spun around on her heels, tears and embarrassment set aside for anger. "Explain that you lied to me? Explain that you manipulated my feelings and used me? Explain that you obviously don't feel the way about me that I feel about you?"
She finished, and her shame returned as the anger subsided. Her tears came back full force. Nick couldn't bear to see her cry. Approaching her hesitantly, as if he were afraid that he would scare her into running away, Nick put his arms around her. She cried into his chest, soaking his shirt but he didn't mind. He was just glad to be holding her again.
"Let's go up to my apartment. I don’t want everyone to see me crying down here." She said after a few minutes. His arm remained around her waist as they walked. He didn't want to chance her slipping away from him.
"Priscilla? Do you want to talk?" He asked when they entered apartment, still walking close together.
"No." She said quietly, slipping out of his arms and turning to face him. "Nick, do you love me?"
He was startled by her question, but answered without hesitancy. "Yes, I love you."
She looked him in the eye, trying to determine that she should do. Should she believe him? Should she trust a man whom she had just seen with his ex? Then again, if he had been interested in Skylla still, he wouldn't have come after her, would he?
"I love you, too." She whispered, and his heart
jumped with joy to hear her answer him. He had hid his love for her for
so long that he had given up on her ever returning his feelings. Since
practically the day that he had met her, he had been harboring these intense
emotions.
With a low, almost inaudible groan, Nick swept
Priscilla into his arms with a lust that dare not be denied. Her breath
escaped her as his lips took over hers. His hot passion overwhelmed her,
and pleased her to no end. He did want this as much as she did. Melting
into his arms, Priscilla gave in to the deep need. Her hands were traveling
over his back, feeling the taught muscles, and he had allowed his hands
to explore the soft contours of her body, as his tongue continued the exploration
inside her moist, sweet mouth.
“Nick…” Her whisper was throaty, a passionate moan as he pulled her even closer, his lips trailing down her jaw, then returning to her mouth. She tasted even better than he remembered…”Oh, Nick….”
Hearing her whisper his name like that pushed Nick past the point of stopping. He wanted her, this beautiful woman that had enchanted him since he had first laid eyes on her. "Are you sure?" He managed to whisper as his lips traveled over her face.
"Yes…oh, god yes…" She pulled away from him, breathless and whispered in a tone unlike anything he had ever heard, innocent and seductive in one. "I want you to make love to me, Nick…will you?"
"Prissy…I love you." He felt like he was dreaming
as they made their way into the bedroom, clothes seeming to disintegrate
as they floated along.
Hours later, Nick was watching his radiant lover as she slept in his arms. It was still hard to believe that this was happening. They had made love over and over into the night and it had been the most magical night of his life.
"I love you so much." Nick whispered, leaning
over to kiss her forehead. A dreamy smile flitted across her face as if
his words had pierced her slumber. "I promise you, I am never going to
do anything to make you stop loving me." He vowed to her, intent on keeping
that vow.
Skylla smiled to herself as she stared at the picture of her ex that was in her hands. She had no intention of letting him get away from her, and she knew exactly how she was going to keep him.
"Well, Nicky, hope you're ready to be a Daddy."
She grinned maliciously as she rubbed a hand over her stomach.
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Five
"Good morning, beautiful." Nick whispered as he saw Priscilla beginning to wake. She looked adorable with a slightly befuddled expression, and her hair tousled. She reminded Nick of a little girl. A very attractive little girl.
"Morning" She replied, a light blushed coloring her face from his compliment. "Though I'm sure I'm not too beautiful right now…I just woke up!"
"No, you're gorgeous. Absolute perfection. And I love you." Her light grin evolved into a full-fledged smile as he accompanied his truthful words with a warm kiss.
"I love you, too…" She smiled joyously once again as she ran a hand over his face lovingly. She sat up on the bed and looked at him. "Tell me something, Nick."
"Anything, my love."
"Don't interrupt." She grinned, "Why did we wait so long?"
"You mean to come out and say that we loved each other?" She nodded. "Well…I had a girlfriend, so you weren't going to say anything, and I was absolutely petrified that you would say you felt nothing more than friendship for me."
"Oh…that makes since…I'm so lucky…" She said as she slipped back into his arms, reveling in the feel of his strong, hard body supporting her.
"And why is that?" Nick replied, amusing himself by placing feathery kisses all over her face, then continuing his worshipping on her neck, and slowly maneuvering lower as Priscilla spoke.
"I'm lucky…the luckiest woman alive, I think…because I have a man that loves me…that's my best friend…and he is the finest man alive…and…oh, that feels so good, but you're distracting me…where was I? Oh yeah…a gorgeous man that is smart and funny and just perfect and loves me." She said as his mouth explored her flat, tanned stomach.
"Really…well, I think you may be a bit prejudiced, but I won't disagree…except to say that if you're the luckiest woman alive, then I am most definitely the luckiest man alive. I'm lucky that you didn't laugh me right out of your apartment when I said I loved you-"
"I would never have-"
"Hey, this time it's you interrupting. Let
me finish. I'm lucky that someone other guy hasn't already swept you off
your feet." He finished his journey across her body and returned his mouth
to hers, unable to stay away for long. Their kiss was long and tender,
one to be treasured. Priscilla planned on treasuring every kiss they shared.
"Nick…" She said, when their kiss had ended and she was reclining in his arms once again.
"Yes, darling?" He answered, thoroughly enjoying having the opportunity to dote on his Prissy.
"I'm hungry!" She playfully whined.
"Well, we'd better get some food into you. Wouldn't want you to whither away on me now, would we?" He teased back as they stood. She grabbed a robe from her closet as he fumbled around for the boxers that had been hastily discarded the night before.
As they made their way into the kitchen, Nick stopped her in the hallway by wrapping his arms around her waist and nibbling on the soft skin of her neck.
"Nick! I'm hungry! We can do that later…" She said, though not really displeased with his amorous passion at all.
"Well, I'm hungry, too…and I've been denied the breakfast that I have in mind for way too long…" He said, turning her slowly to face him as his lips traveled from her neck to her face, sampling his meal tenderly. Each feature of her much admired face demanded equal tastes…her forehead, her cheeks…his mouth traveled over her eyes, kissed the tip of her nose, nibbling tantalizingly on her earlobe before finally meeting her lips. The kiss was spectacular, just as every other kiss they shared was. Tenderness, love, both turned quickly to passion and they were soon ready to return to the bedroom, breakfast having been long forgotten, but Priscilla's growling stomach broke them apart.
Grinning shyly, Prissy looked up at Nick. "I'm sorry…but I told you I was hungry!"
"Yes, you did…" He grinned back. "Come on, let's get you fed so I can escort you back to the bedroom. You know, I hope you don't have any plans for today; I plan on keeping you in bed for a long time…"
"I don't think I'll have any complaints there…"
She answered, kissing him quickly one more time before slipping out of
his arms.
Skylla sat by the phone, willing it to ring. She had convinced herself that Nick would call, he had to! But the morning was nearly gone, and she hadn't heard one peep out of the innocuous plastic that her gaze was fixed on.
"Damn it, Nicky…where are you? I bet that whore" She spat out the offensive name," that stole you away yesterday has you trapped in her bed. My poor Nicky…don't worry, honey, I'll save you. We'll save you." She moved a hand onto her flat stomach. "Won't we, baby? We'll bring daddy back home to us just where he belongs…"
"As soon as we find out exactly who that bitch is that seduced him away from us…" She added moments later. "Oh yes, I'll make her pay…no one takes my Nicky away from me!"
LATER THAT NIGHT
"Nick?" Priscilla whispered, making sure that her worn out lover was really asleep. It was dark outside, around midnight, and their passion had finally been sated after a full day of lovemaking. And what a wonderful day it was, Priscilla thought to herself. Passion had ruled primarily, but there had been times when they had simply laid in each other's arms, talking and kissing. They had talked about everything. Their childhood's, their dreams, everything. Nick had explained about how and why he had kept his true feelings from her, while Priscilla reveled in the newness of hers.
And now Nick was fast asleep, while Priscilla knew she was much too excited to go to sleep any time soon. She wanted to tell the whole world that she was in love! Or if not the whole world, then at least someone…but she didn't know who. All of her friends would be in bed by now.
"Hey…maybe not everyone…" She said crawling out of bed, being careful not to wake Nick.
She walked into the living room and flipped on her computer. After logging on, she quickly typed out the address to the chatroom that she had visited frequently in the past few days. She needed to tell some people the good news…and thank them!
To her relief, there were a few people in the room. She saw a couple that she had spoken with before, and a couple of new people.
[Priscilla has entered the room]
ATorresGirl: Hi…you're 'the' Priscilla, right?
<<Rachel to ATorresGirl>> PG? Like you were telling me about earlier?
<<ATorresGirl to Rachel>> Yeah!
Priscilla: I am! And guess what?!?!?!
Karen: What?!?! Is it about you and…your mystery guy?
ATorresGirl: Did you take our advice?
Priscilla: I did! And THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Rachel: OMGOMG You and Nick are TOGETHER!!!???!!!
Priscilla: How did you know it was Nick?
ATorresGirl: We have out ways…lol…so…DID YOU?
Karen: Yeah! Don't keep us in suspense!!
[Munkey has entered the room]
Priscilla: Well, we ARE together!! We spent the last night…and all day today…and all night tonight…together! And…well….WOW!!!!
<<Munkey to Rachel>> Thanks for emailing me and telling me she was here! I don't want to miss this!
<<Rachel to Munkey>> Your welcome! I didn't think you would!
Munkey: OMG!! You spent the night…and the NEXT night…with Nick!!!!!
ATorresGirl: YAY!!! So maybe now you can answer a question for us…
Karen: Yeah…it's something that we've all been wanting to know…
Priscilla: Anything! I owe it to you!
Rachel: ANYTHING??? You may regret that….LOL
<<ATorresGirl to Munkey>> You want to do the honors…
<<Munkey to ATorresGirl>> I did it last time!!! YOU ask her now…
<<ATorresGirl to Munkey>> If you say so…=P
ATorresGirl: Well, what we want to know is….how big is Nick's gun!!
Priscilla: Well…let me just tell you that it is positively the BEST 'gun' that I have ever seen…it was good enough to keep ME occupied for the last 24 hours!!
Rachel: OMGOMGOMG HYPERVENTILATING…..
Karen: wow…I'm going to have some good dreams tonight…
Munkey: You're not the only one…hehehaha…WOW
"Prissy? Come back to bed…" She heard Nick
call out as she laughed at what the girls online were saying about him.
She would have to tell him about this later…
"All right! I'll be right there." Now that she had let out the secret that she had been bursting to tell, she realized that she was tired.
Priscilla: Sorry girls, but I have to go! My Nick's calling me back to bed….?
ATorresGirl: Don't let us keep you!
Karen: Yeah! You have something worth leaving for!!!
Rachel: OMGOMG…STILL HYPERVENTILATING…
Munkey: Just don't forget to come back and give us the FULL, UNCENSORED story!!!
Priscilla: I will!! LOL. Well, bye!
[Priscilla has left the room]
"There you are…what's so funny?" Nick asked as she crawled into the bed next to him. She slipped into his arms and grinned even harder as her leg brushed against the very object that had had such an effect on the people she had just talked to…they were right. She was very lucky.
"Nothing. I'll tell you in the morning. Night." She whispered. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Good night, my beautiful
love." He returned the expression with a kiss on the top of her head
as she buried her face in his chest and snuggled under the covers. As she
drifted off, warm dreams of her future with Nick welcomed her.
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Six
"Niiiickkkk…are you awake yet?" Priscilla said as she bounced down onto the bed next to him. He moaned sleepily and grabbed her waist to stop the jolting motions.
"Well, I am now…. What time is it?" He asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. She answered only after he had given her a soft good-morning kiss. Her breath was warm and minty, and she tasted wonderful.
"Seven." She said, and then hopped up from the bed. "Now sleepyhead, you have to get up! I want to go get some breakfast before we have to go to the studio."
"Oh…it's Monday already? Were did Sunday go?" Nick asked as he sat up and searched for his boxers, which he hadn't found much of a need for the previous day, but since Priscilla was wearing a robe to clothe herself, he decided to cover up to.
"Mmm…you mean you don’t remember?" She said with a grin. "Was it that forgettable?"
"Oh yeah…I think I recall something about that. But not too much… maybe you want to come 'jog my memory'?" He grinned suggestively at her and winked as she let out a delighted giggle.
"I would love, too, Nicky, but not right now! I'm hungry!" She squealed and he smiled at her as he pulled her into his arms again. For so long he had wanted to hold her like this, kiss her, love her…and now he could. There were no other attachments, no possessive girlfriends…just him and Prissy. Like it should be, like he hoped it always would be. "What is it, Nick? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing…I just…love you so much, Priscilla. You are so beautiful…and mine!" He let out a wicked, evil laugh and pulled her down on the bed on top of him. "All mine, my little pretty…all mine!"
"All yours? Well, I have no problem with that." She took advantage of her position to lean down and kiss him firmly on the mouth. After a few minutes, he locked his arms around her waist so that she couldn't move away if she wanted to. "Mmm…hey! Come on, Nicky…" Suddenly he stiffened and let go of her. "What's wrong?" She asked, wondering if she had done something wrong, or maybe said something.
"Nothing…" He replied vaguely, but something about the way she had just called him 'Nicky' had reminded him of…Skylla. She had been acting so strangely towards the end of their relationship. He had been going to tell someone…her family maybe, but he couldn't now.
"Nick…I didn't anything wrong, did I?" Priscilla asked nervously. She didn't want anything to mess up this relationship.
"Oh, of course not, sweetie! No, no, you didn't…now, where were we?" He grinned and pushed thoughts of his possessive ex out of his head.
"I was just about to fix us some breakfast…" She said slyly.
"Oh yeah…and I was just about to distract you!" He reached for her again, but she was too fast and slipped out of his arms, running for the kitchen. He jumped up and followed her. "Oh well, I'll get you later…so, what's for breakfast?"
"Uh…nothing…" She said, gazing into the all but empty refrigerator. "Sorry, but I have nothing to eat…well, some moldy bread and last week's sushi, but nothing other than that…"
"Um…I'll pass. Why don't we get dressed and go get something? There's a little diner near the studio that I go to sometimes.
"Okay. We need to go by your place, don't we? For clothes, I mean." Priscilla said. "If we leave in about fifteen minutes, we'll have time…that means we'll have to take very quick showers. You want to go first?"
"Who said anything about one at a time?" He
grinned and Priscilla's eyes widened as she allowed him to lead her into
the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, they left the apartment hand in hand, fully playing up their new roles as young lovers. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other, always gazing in each other's eyes and reaching over to caress and touch each other.
"So…are we going to tell everyone?" Priscilla asked when they were in the car.
"Who's there to tell? People on the set…we can if you want to. Whatever makes you happy." Nick smiled at her adoringly and she blushed, still not used to having all this attention lavished on her.
"Hmm…maybe we'll only tell a few people. Well, some already know…" She said, thinking out loud.
"Whoa…whoa, how do some people already know? You couldn’t have called anyone, I didn't let you out of my sight for five minutes yesterday."
"Well…that's what I was doing last night, actually. I told some people online…"
"You didn't tell those people that we were talking to the other day, did you?" He asked, throwing her a sideways glance.
"Yeah…you don't mind, do you?" She asked, once again afraid she had done something to fumble up.
"I guess not…what exactly did you tell them. You didn't get too specific, did you? I mean, judging from what they asked me when we were on the other day…"
"Oh…well…I…uh…" She stuttered and wondered how to answer him that wouldn't seem too incriminating towards herself.
"Come on, Prissy…what did you tell those people about us?" He said with a smile that could have been curious or annoyed, Priscilla wasn't sure which one it was.
"Well…I just answered their questions… ," She said, evading the question with a delicate skill. Sooner or later she would have to say, but maybe he would get distracted…
"And what did they ask?" He said, then realizing what she was doing, got more specific. "Tell me you didn't tell them how we spent yesterday and last night, Prissy…"
"I didn't tell them how we spent yesterday and last night. There, I told you…but it's not true. " She said then quickly continued before he could interrupt. "But I was so excited and I wanted to talk to someone so bad…You're not mad at me for it are you, Nick? Please don't be mad…I'm so sorry…I won't do it again." She pleaded with big dark eyes gazing up at him. A slow grin escaped him although he was trying to keep up a stern face. It was no use…she was just too adorable.
As he answered, they pulled into the lot his apartment was located on and parked. "I would like to be, but you know I can't stay – or even really get – mad at you, Prissy." He leaned over and kissed her softly. "I love you too much."
"Oh…Nick, you're so sweet…I'm glad you're not
mad. I couldn't take it if I'd done something to make you mad so soon after
we got together." He started to get out of the car when she pulled him
back. "Come here…let me show you how glad for a few more minutes…"
Skylla sat in the coffee shop that she and Nick had frequented while they dated. She had sat in front of his apartment from dawn till dusk the previous day and knew with certainty that he hadn't been home. Which meant that he had spent all day with that whore that had stole him away from where he belonged. I was right, she thought to herself, she did seduce him. But that's okay, Nicky, I can forgive you. You're only a man after all…I'm just going to have to work even harder to get you away from her and break that spell she has over you. And as soon as I know who it is that you're bedding, it'll be all that much easier. She sat up a little straighter and grinned, placing a hand on her perfectly flat stomach. Besides, you're a good man, Nick. There's no way you'd leave me to raise our baby all alone…no way.
She was there waiting for Nick. Sooner or later, he was bound to come in. He did it every day on his way to the NBC studio. She would just happen to be here when he arrived and would just happen to 'bump' into him…and maybe have a little bout of morning sickness, mild nausea which would concern him immediately. And she would just mention that it had happened almost every morning that week…
Suddenly some sixth sense caused Skylla to look up at the door and her heart skipped a beat as she saw him walk in…. He was being so nice, holding the door open for someone…someone…that he was wrapping an arm around her waist…someone that was leaning up to whisper in his ear…someone…that Skylla knew. Her heart filled with a red hot rage as the little Latino batted her eyelashes and Nick – My Nick, she thought – gazed down at her with a completely enraptured expression on his handsome face. Skylla immediately recognized her, they had met plenty of times at Sunset Beach functions and things like that. Skylla had never liked her, either…
A sick knot had formed in Skylla's stomach as she watched them put on a sickeningly disgusting show of happiness as Nick held Priscilla's seat out for her and then kissed her again before walking to his own seat. Couldn't they at least control their hormones in public? That really was making her nauseous, seeing her man hanging all over that…that whore!
The rage was growing steadily stronger and she knew she had to leave unless she wanted to ruin her plan by exploding in a fit of jealous anger right there. She jumped up from the seat she was at and pushed her way out the door, leaving just in time for Nick to look over that way notice her heading out in a hurry, obviously quite upset.
But he did see her, whether she knew it or now, and he felt absolutely awful. Skylla had been the first real woman that he had been serious about and he hadn't wanted to hurt her like this, that was part of the reason that he had put off breaking up with her for so long. And now she had seen him with Priscilla, probably watched him holding her and kissing her…he could only imagine how that made his ex feel, especially since she had been so insecure about their relationship.
"Nick? Nick, is something wrong? You
look…distracted?" Priscilla asked and he smiled, turning to her. Skylla
was part of his past, it wasn't his job to worry about her anymore. He
had Priscilla, the woman that he loved with all of his heart and nothing
- nothing - was going to come between them.
"Of course not, Prissy. Nothing could
possibly be wrong…now, what were you saying?" He replied and she smiled
that brilliant, heart warming smile of hers, a smile that soothed away
all of his worries and erased every lingering thought of Skylla and how
she was feeling.
"Oh Nicky…don't you worry, my darling. She
won't keep you captive much longer. I'll see to that." Skylla said as she
glared at them through the display window outside the coffee shop. "No,
no…you don't have to worry. I'll see to that…"
Real Life
By Mandy Stevenson
Chapter Seven
"Ugh…how about we just skip filming today and go straight home, climb back into bed, and stay there making red hot passionate love all day long until we pass out from exhaustion?" Nick asked as they pulled into the studio parking lot in his.
"Ohhh…you know, as much fun as that sounds,
we can't do that and you know it!" Priscilla said, leaning over to peck
him on the cheek before hopping out of the car. She could hear his tortured
groan as she walked away…
A FEW HOURS LATER
"Shawn!" Priscilla called excitedly to her friend as she walked over to her.
"Priscilla, hey! What's up? You look happy." Shawn said with a laugh. "Actually, you look…ecstatic! Like a kid on Christmas morning or something."
"Oh, I feel like that, Shawn! You will never believe what happened this weekend…I can hardly believe it myself!" She exclaimed, bursting to tell someone the news. "I'm in love!"
"What?!?" Shawn nearly shouted, then realized how loud she initially was. "How could you have possibly met and fallen in love with some one in two days? Priscilla, that is simply not possible!"
"Come on, Shawn, I didn't just meet the guy or anything. I'm not that naïve. I've known this guy for a quite a while. It was just this weekend that we…I don't know how to explain it…we realized our love. Doesn't that sound so romantic? We realized our love for each other…" She said, a dreamy lovestruck expression flowing across her face.
"Oh…God, Priscilla…I can't believe this." But Shawn had an amused expression on her face now. "So, who's the lucky guy? Come on and spill girl. You know you want to… I know that look on your face. You're dying to tell someone about this romeo of yours, and it might as well be me."
"Someone say romeo?" Nick walked up behind Priscilla and flashed her a secret little wink that melted her heart. "Well…that must be me then."
"Oh, no…not you this time, Nick," Shawn said as Priscilla fought to hold in a little giggle at the unintended irony of her words. "We're talking about Priscilla's new boyfriend!"
"New boyfriend?" Hank walked up to the group of people and asked curiously. "So, who managed to catch our little bachelorette here?"
"That's what I was wondering…come on, Prissy. Don't keep us in suspense…" To Priscilla's amusement, Nick had decided to string their friends along.
"Well…you will all be very surprised when I tell you who he is," Priscilla said with a silly little grin on her face that Nick found absolutely adorable. He found everything about her adorable. "Very surprised…"
"Is he cute? What does he look like? And what about his body?" Shawn asked devilishly, getting straight to the point as usual. Nick raised his eyebrows and waited for Priscilla who was blushing a little from embarrassment to answer the question.
"Umm…well…yeah. He is." Nick's grin widened ever so slightly. "In fact, he's more than cute…he's fine. Gorgeous. Dark hair, amazing eyes…and a body that is positively to die for."
"Ohhh…well, if he's that fine, then he must rate a negative in the personality department." Sherri, who had been listening in and now stepped forward said with decisiveness.
"Just the opposite. He's kind, and sweet and caring…perfect." Nick, by now, was wearing a very proud grin, eating up this attention that was being unknowingly lavished on his. Priscilla could see that this was swelling his ego, and she also knew that soon he would ask something…something that she could really use against him in this little game they were playing.
"Well Prissy…you spent this weekend with him, right?" Nick asked and she nodded, knowing she was about to wipe that smug little smirk right off of his face. "Was he good? In bed I mean."
She had to fight to contain the laughter at his purely egotistical question. He was having the time of his life listening to her go on about him.
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked that. Of course, he is spectacular in bed. I mean, seriously, the best that I have ever had." She took notice of the envy on the faces of Sherri, Shawn and Christina, who had began eavesdropping at the sound of Nick's question, and of the slightly amused, slightly disbelieving expression on Hank's face. "There's this one thing in particular he does that drives me wild with his hand-"
"Uh…Prissy!" Nick said quickly breaking in, his face now a flaming red and the self-admiring grin completely exorcised.
Hank's wise eyes immediately made the connection between Nick's sudden bashful embarrassment and Priscilla's laughing eyes. A sincere smile settled on his face as he let out a little chuckle and slapped his friend on the back. "Way to go, man. Didn't know you had it in you. You two make a hell of a couple." And with another humorous chuckle, he walked away leaving Nick and Priscilla's little game uncovered and the gaping mouths of three women.
"Oh…my…god…" Shawn said with a completely shocked look etched onto her sunny features. "Priscilla…Nick is…I mean, you are Nick are…you're…"
"Together." She smiled up at Nick, who walked beside her and pulled her into his arms. "We are together."
"Aww…that is so sweet…" Sherri cooed at the romantic moment between the two new lovers as Nick leaned down to kiss Priscilla on the tip of her nose and she smiled lovingly up at him.
"Well, I for one knew that it was only a matter of time." Christina piped up. "From the way that those two can go at it on camera, it was only eventual that those emotions carried over into real life."
For a second, Priscilla could have sworn that she saw a worried expression flicker across Shawn's face, but it was gone in a heartbeat. "Yeah…" Shawn agreed. "Look, Priscilla, I have to get on set. Dinner tonight, to celebrate right?"
"Of course! The usual spot." Priscilla agreed and Shawn took off. "Oh…Nick, we start filming soon, too. We should go over the script some more. We…uh, didn't get much studying time in this weekend."
"Right…" Nick agreed with a delicious little
grin as he grabbed onto her hand and followed her away.
LATER THAT NIGHT
"You have to go out?" Nick pleaded, giving her a sad puppy dog eyes look that made her want to agree to anything he asked of her, but she somehow managed to hold her own against the powerful offense.
"I promised Shawn that we would have dinner tonight, and I'm not going to cancel because you want me to stay home." She said strictly, avoiding his exaggeratedly heartbroken expression. "Come on Nick… no more than an hour, I promise. Besides, don't you need to go to your apartment and get something to change into?"
It was an unspoken assumption that he would be staying the night with her again, and he wasn't about to contradict her. Another night in her warm bed was just what he needed.
"Okay…an hour though. I'm holding you to that!" He stood from where he had been lounging on her couch and pulled her into his arms.
"I promise…one hour." She kissed him lingeringly then struggled to get out of his embrace playfully. His arms remained around her waist as she went to the door, where she turned around to kiss him once again softly then broke away. "Bye!" She called out as she walked backwards down the hall. The sight of him looking completely at ease leaning against the door frame to her apartment gave her a warm feeling inside.
"I love you!" He called out to her receding
form, a deliriously happy expression that perfectly matched Priscilla's
across his face.
FIVE MINUTES LATER
"Priscilla! Hey…why are you late?" Shawn asked, already waiting at a front table in the casual restaurant that they usually ate at. Priscilla glanced down at her watch to see that she was actually about ten minutes late; it was almost seven fifteen, she had agreed to be here at seven.
"Sorry…lost track of time." She said with a mischievous smile.
"I bet…yeah, I can just see it. Let me guess: you and Nick were memorizing next week's lines." Shawn said jokingly.
"Umm...close enough!" Priscilla laughed along with her friend.
A few minutes later they were approached by a waiter and placed their orders. While waiting for the food to arrive, Shawn decided to bring up something that had been on her mind ever since Nick and Priscilla had staged that little play earlier that morning. "Priscilla? I have to ask you something…I know that you're not going to like it, but I have to do this. As your friend, it is my job."
"What is it, Shawn? Is something wrong? With you, or-" Priscilla asked, concerned.
"No, no…it's about you. And Nick. You seem to have fallen hard and fast for him, Priscilla. Maybe a little too hard and fast."
"What are you saying, Shawn?" Priscilla asked, still uncertain and a little bit wary. She could see where this conversation was heading, and Shawn was right. She didn't like it.
"Well…you're both actors. Good ones! And you play love interests on screen…there's so much emotion involved in acting, you put so much of yourself into it and of course, you take a little from your characters, too. I mean, it's only natural."
"What are you getting to Shawn? Just come out and say it." Priscilla said bluntly.
"Are you sure that this is you and Nick in love…or is it just leftover emotions from Antonio and Gabi. Please, don't get me wrong Priscilla, I'm happy if you are, but I don't want you to get hurt…you're actors for God's sake, and sometimes the line between acting and life gets a little blurry. Most stage romances usually go out with a bang…and most of the time, someone is left in the middle of the explosion. I just don't want it to be you, Priscilla."
"I can't…Shawn, I can't believe that you would do this to me." Priscilla said, growing angry quickly as Shawn's words set in.
"I'm sorry, Priscilla, but-"
"But what? But nothing Shawn. I'm happy…and in love! I know what real love is, I do, no matter what you might think, know the difference between the show and real life! And I know that I am really in love with Nick!" Priscilla stood up and grabbed her purse. "I'm sorry, Shawn, but I have to leave."
"Priscilla, no!" Shawn said quickly, regretting that she had ever brought this up. "Don't leave-"
"Sorry, I have to…go!" Priscilla said and took
off. "I have to see Nick."
AT NICK'S APARTMENT
Nick collapsed onto his bed, worn out from trying to stuff half of his wardrobe into a small duffel bag. As he lay across the queen sized bed (much to large for one person, in his opinion. He really preferred Prissy's small but warm bed) a photo lying on the nightstand caught his eye. A photo of him and Skylla was framed and proudly displayed next to his bed. Swearing under his breath, he reached over and grabbed the picture, throwing it into an open drawer.
Some sixth sense caused him to glance up into the door way. His heart stopped when he saw his ex-girlfriend standing there, tears in her eyes. She had obviously seen him put the picture away.
"Skylla…I'm…What are you…?"
"No, Nick it's okay. We're not together, why would you want a reminder of the past lying around?" She asked with an obviously faked laugh. "I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that. I came over to see you, the door was open…" A blatant lie, of course. She still had the key he had given her and seeing him here had been a total surprise. She had assumed her would be with her.
"Oh. Of course…I must have left it open when I came in. I'm in a hurry, actually…" He still felt uncomfortable around her, no matter what she said to reassure him.
"Well…this is kind of important. Nick…I found out something… important today." She said, then stopped, not wanting to seem too eager. She had to pretend that this was not something she wanted.
"What is it?" He asked, feeling a twinge of guilt at whatever was burdening her.
"Nick…I'm…" She took a deep breath and surpressed a smile. "I'm pregnant."
The horror on his face at the news his former
love delivered was only multiplied by the horror in his heart when he heard
that familiar gasp – and turned to see Priscilla in the doorway.