Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Wisteria

I pop myself on the couch and work up the courage to tell him what I need to say. "Um, thank you. For standing up for me against that guy."

He was totally a creep right from the first moment he stepped into the dressing room I was in. He grunts out a reply that could go either way.

"Is, um, it going to be a problem for the production? Cause a delay or anything? While they look for another stand-in?"

This time he shakes his head no. "Shouldn't be a problem at all."

"Oh, okay. That's good. That's really good."

He would know if things like that would cause problems much faster than I would. Maybe they find more than one stand-in and they rotate them out or something, so they have more. The thought makes me have to fight hard to keep the look off my face at the thought of having to work -to be naked- with three or four different people. Dear God, I don't know how I would get through that.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Um, I…," I start to say no automatically until he holds up a bottle of water that looks so tempting I find myself smiling and nodding, "Sure. That sounds great! Thank you. Again."

I had just assumed he had nothing, but alcoholic drinks stuffed in his fridge. The kind that James Bond would drink if he stopped by to talk to Banner. Banner looks like he might be best buddies with James. His clothes fit perfectly but it's easy to tell how big he is under the tailored material; how wide his shoulders are and how tall he is. He makes the whole room seem smaller by comparison.

He does a lot of his stunts himself too. Not that I would know because I've read interviews he's done where he talks about doing it or anything. It might have come on one of the entertainment channels I watched when I was back home. Of course, that would be how I keep up with what Banner does and does not do.

"So, where are you from… originally?"

"Kentucky."

"Really?" I hear the hint of incredulity in his voice and smile.

"Yep, really."

"I'd never guess…"

"Because of my lack of an accent? Yeah, I worked really freakin' hard to get rid of it but sometimes it comes through. When I'm tired or upset… or pissed off. Then you can really hear it."

We talk for a long time before finally getting through some of the upcoming lines. By the time I leave his trailer, I've even relaxed some and we've laughed together. I want to tell him thank you again but I've already done that three times and I don't want to over say it or come off sounding like a broken record to him.

I spend the entire night trying to figure out which person Banner Arden really is - the cold, stand-offish, stuck-up asshole who embarrassed me the first day out? Or who he was today - the hero that comes rushing in to save damsels in distress, the funny, charming, friendly guy who is easy to hang out with and always looks out for his co-stars?

It's important for me to figure out which one he really is and if he is the asshole, why would he be so sweet today? What game is he trying to play being that guy? God, I hope he is the guy I met today. I hope he is the hero I want him to so desperately be.

The conundrum of Banner Arden keeps me up longer than it should, so I wake up already behind. It's a complete surprise when someone knocks on my door. I'm not expecting anyone, and I have to run or I'm going to be late, and that is the last thing I want to be.

I open the door without even looking through the peephole. And find my agent on the other side. She comes brushing into the room without saying a word. Velma could be an actress herself with all her dramatics and loudness. She spins with a flourish and a dramatic pause.

"So, you've really done it this time haven't you, baby girl?"

"Excuse me?"

She pushes a bunch of magazines at me. I glance down looking at one of them. The headline makes no sense to me, so I put it at the back of the pile in my hands. The next one has my name on it with a grainy photo of me and… Banner.

"Oh God!"

I start shifting through the stack of them. Some of them have the picture of me leaving his trailer with a smile on my face while others just have stock photos of me and him. One even has a picture of him holding my hand and walking with me. I think it was taken as he was leading me to his trailer. The headlines range from ‘Newest It Girl!" to "Banner in hot and heavy love affair with his new leading lady".

I turn my worried eyes up to her. What does this mean? What happens now?