Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Banner

"You look like a man in love." I could be talking to my own fucking reflection, but I'm not. Today, I'm talking to one of the people who have come to visit the set for the day. The other one is currently over with Winnie talking excitedly and making my Winnie smile and laugh.

The guy looks at me like I just walked up, and gut-punched him. He recovers and turns his gaze back to the girls. "I could say the same thing about you, brother."

I let my lips turn up in a Cheshire grin. Am I in love? Oh yeah. I think I can truly say that I am completely head over heels for my little starlet. She makes my day better just by being in it, she rocks my world at night, and she comes home with me every time the director yells ‘cut' for the day.

"Touche, I say we take our women to lunch and growl at any other man who gets too close."

"That sounds like a great idea."

I can't help but watch Winnie the entire time she's with the set visitor, Pearl. Afterward, I noticed she was a lot quieter than she was coming to set this morning. I have to wonder if the little strawberry blonde might have said something to Winnie. I don't like that thought and Winnie didn't seem like she was upset when she hugged the little thing and told her to call her. As far as I know, they exchanged numbers and promises to call one another. It didn't sound like they were anything but budding friends. So, what is on my little starlet's mind?

I don't have long to wait before she lets me in on what it might be. As soon as we hit the living room, she is spinning around giving me solemn eyes. "We need to talk."

I sit on the arm of the couch and give her my undivided attention, "So let's talk. What do you have on your mind?"

"I like you. I like how you make me feel. And what you do to me."

"But? I definitely hear a but in there somewhere."

She pauses and takes a long blink like she might be about to burst into tears. "I think… I think we need to stop. I think I need to… go back to my place and we should maybe, step back from one another."

"Step back from one another? You want to take a break from this? From us?"

She tenses like she might argue with me when I say the words but then her shoulders slump and I can see the stubbornness rise in her eyes. "Yes."

"No."

"What?"

"I disagree with you. I don't think we need a break at all."

Her brows furrow and she starts pacing back and forth in front of the couch.

"I… I really don't want to make this harder than it already is. I care for you very much, Banner, and I… would never ask you to be or do something you aren't but…"

"But?" I wait.

She stops and closes her eyes again, "I need more." When she lifts her lids and gives me those chocolate orbs I see the tears swimming in them. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending…"

"Why now? Why do you need more now?"

Her eyes lower and she starts fidgeting with her fingers, "I saw the way Pearl and Spade look at one another. The way they care about one another…"

I interrupt her, "And you think I don't care about you like that?"

The question seems to agitate her even more. "Damn it, Banner! You know what I mean? They… love one another. I want that. I don't… I can't be," she flutters her hands around the room, "like this. I can't do… casual. I can't be happy just being a fuck buddy."

"And you think that's all I want? You think I just want to fuck you for a few months - while we're shooting the movie - and then that be it. We walk away, back to whatever we were before we started… being together?"

She whirls and faces the French doors that lead to the pool. "I think… you like me and you like this but I'm telling you I need mo…,"

When she turns around the words stop in midstream. Her eyes grow wide, and her breath turns shallow. But she's not looking at me. She's looking at the ring in the box in my hand.

I stand slowly and come over to her where I take her in my arms while still holding the box with the ring in it in my hand. "I know you could never actually be sure of who I was before you, who I had turned into because of all the shit I've seen and been through…but trust me when I tell you…this is different than anything I have ever been involved in."

She remains silent, stunned.

"I never let anyone but George in my house before you, little one. Never wanted someone living with me… until you. The thought was… repulsive. And then I met you and I couldn't stop thinking about ways I could get you back here, about ways I could make you stay once I got you here." Her eyes shine with the tears that have leaked down her cheeks.

"I've come alive with you. I've never been like this with someone before, Winnie. Never."

She leans into me, and I can feel her shaking slightly. "I'm scared I'm going to fuck this up, Banner. I don't know what I'm doing."

"No one knows what they're doing, baby. But you're the person I want to figure it all out with." I brush my lips over hers, tasting the saltiness of her tears on her mouth. "Now, Winnie baby, put my ring on your finger, tell me yes, and let me take you to bed so I can show you exactly how much I love you."

She gasps and pales at my words. "You… you love me?"

"I love you, Winnie. I love every part of you and I'm very ready to tell the world you are mine and I am yours. I'm ready to be your husband, your partner, your everything."

She gives me a glorious smile before standing on her tiptoes and kissing me senseless. She pulls back only long enough to tell me, "I love you, Banner! I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I want you to be my everything and I want to be your everything too. I love you."

I lift her and she wraps her legs around my waist. Our lips meet and meld together as our tongues play. I walk her right to our bedroom where I lay her down and spend the rest of the night and a good portion of the next day on just how much she means to me. When we come back to the set, Winnie is wearing my ring and holding my whole heart in her hands, but I'm pretty sure she's had my heart from the moment I looked down and saw that sweet, innocent face shining up at me from an eight by ten glossy. She just knows she has it now.

For the first time, I'm alright with someone else having all of me. For the first time, I don't care who knows all about my personal life, who knows how I feel, or what my soft, gooey core is made of. This time, Winnie has my back and I know my girl doesn't Kiss and Tell.