Strange Love Ch. 02

The cart began to slowly climb a hill of trees. The path was just beginning to be worn in through the grass. Through the trees I spotted the outline of a house. It was beautiful and modern with concrete walls and few windows.

At the top people were rushing around setting up the scene, getting coffee for others, and talking to each other. The cart came to a stop and nobody noticed us join the group. Only one smaller girl with long black hair bounded up to us and waved at Seth. "Good morning Seth!"

"Morning Emma." Seth crooned. An immediate blush came over her face. I wasn't sure if it was because of Seth or his accent.

She looked me over briefly and leaned in towards Seth, "So she's the one that made you late today?" A slight giggle emitted from her. She didn't seem to say it as an insult, but my face still blushed from anger not embarrassment.

Seth chuckled and I felt the pressure from his hand on my back again. I spotted a very exhausted looking Anna sitting on the stairs of the front porch. I lifted my hand and waved but she didn't see me.

"She looks tired." Seth laughed.

"Yeah she does. Seems like I might have to cancel her signing today." I mumbled, not really caring about another damn signing. With Seth's hand on my back I felt all of my anxieties melt away. The pressure was firm but mild. I leaned my back into his hand just a tiny bit and felt the pressure increase.

Nicholas came into view and handed Anna a Styrofoam cup. She looked down into it and smiled half-heartedly. He rubbed one of his large hands along her shoulder before sitting down on the step next to her. He was dressed in a leather goth style. He wore a pair of leather pants with an untucked button-up shirt. Anna's eyes slid shut as we broke through the crowd.

"Morning." I quipped. Her eyes slowly opened as she forced another half-hearted smile at me.

"Maybe you should get her home." Seth growled into my ear.

"No!" His eyes widened as he came to the side of me. "I just mean, I'd love to see you film a little."

A smile spread across his face. "Maybe another day. She doesn't look like she can take much more."

Anna's eyes had slid back shut and Nicholas was leaning towards Emma. She spoke in giggles and pointed to Anna. Nicholas glanced over to her and frowned. He looked back to the smallish actress and shook his head. Again I wished I could will my ears to hear, but I knew there was no luck with that.

"Nicholas seems to be disappointed she won't be staying though." Seth snuggled his face down into his jacket.

I twisted my body against his to keep the warmth. He accepted my soft body without hesitation. "And you?" I would question how he could hear what the two actors had said, but was too interested in what he was thinking.

"I don't mind if she stays." He chuckled. I hit his chest with my constricted hand. He dodged just a tiny bit and then snuggled back in.

"We need to get to your den." A blond bounded up to us. Seth looked down at her as he did me, nearly half a foot. His mouth opened to say something to the girl but just smiled. "Be right there." He replied.

"I have to go." He pulled away from me and my body was suddenly rushed from the cold air. "My queen needs me"

I scowled; I wanted to be the only woman in his life. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim silver phone. I felt his fingers growing cold from the air as he slipped the phone into my hand. He leaned down quickly and pressed his lips to my forehead. I heard him sniff from the cold. "Put your number in. I'll call you later." His accent had slipped away in just a matter of seconds.

I looked down at the phone as he began to walk away, "Leave it with Emma." The girl with the black hair smiled at me and jumped to my side. She truly seemed friendly.

"So you're seeing Seth?" She asked. I watched as Seth bounded up the front steps and swung the front door open. With one last smoldering look he disappeared into the cement house.

I looked down at his phone and flipped it open. It flashed a brown and white furry dog on the LCD screen. "Um, kinda?" She rolled her eyes at the vague reply.

"Yeah, guys are like that." She looked over my shoulder. "I think that's his dog home in Cork." The dog was looking at the camera like it was a toy. A small black nose was too close to the screen to appreciate the rest of his face. Behind the dog was a lawn and what looked like a bicycle. The thought of Seth in Cork riding a bike made me smile. "Seth's a nice guy."

"Yeah, he is." Emma smiled waiting for me to hand her his phone. "Should we not be here?"

Emma glanced over at Nicholas and Anna. Anna had moved her head from against the porch banister to Nicholas's beefy shoulder. He had begun another conversation, this time with a tall sexy blond. I was glad Anna's eyes were closed. She would definitely feel a bit insignificant next to her.

"Nah, you can stay. But today's scenes are all in the house, and no one's allowed inside on the set. Seth just doesn't want you to freeze out here." I began to type in my number, but when I hit the '5' to begin inputting my area code a name flashed across the screen that caught my attention.Luc.

My stomach lurched. I wasn't sure why. There were tons of Lucs in the world, and many that Seth probably knew, right? The eerie coincidence that I was on the set of a movie based on a book about a man named Lucian, nicknamed Luc, made me shudder. Not a man- a vampire.

ThisLucwas not calling, however. His name merely flashed because he must've been the fifth person on his speed dial. Emma looked over my shoulder when I stopped and looked at the horrified expression on my face. It must've been worse than I thought. "Something wrong?"

She was an actress so I couldn't be sure if she registered the name. "Do you know a Luc?"

She giggled,thatsounded forced. "Seth's brother maybe?"

"Sure." I forced my own smile and continued to type my number in. I saved it as Sandy.

I snapped the phone shut and handed it to Emma. "Nice meeting you Sandy." She was off as quickly as she had flitted to my side. I felt the eyes return to the back of my head and scowled realizing Seth was not by my side. I looked up the house, seeing many windows on the upper floors, and contemplated Seth staring down at me without me knowing.

I scurried over to Anna. My fear had returned. Even with someone as big as Nicholas around, I felt the urge to run. "You ready?"

Nicholas looked up at me and smiled a goofy grin. "She's a bit tired."

"I see that. Keep her up late?" I scoffed. Anna's eyes began to open and she mumbled something. The blond standing on the stair looking down at Nicholas ungracefully spluttered out a laugh.

Nicholas chuckled and stood up, pulling Anna to a standing position with him. She blinked back sleep and shook it off a little as well. She smiled when she finally looked right at me.

"Did you sleep at all?" I asked, more concerned than mocking.

"We got an hour this morning." Nicholas whispered honestly.

I rolled my eyes, hoping for Anna's sake he was either joking or they were playing an intense long-winded game of scrabble in his hotel room.

"You want some help?" He asked Anna.

She looked up at him, easily a foot shorter and shook her head. He brushed a piece of hair from her face as she stepped off of the stair and came closer to me. "When's the book signing?"

"Tomorrow. I'm canceling." I assured her. Her shoulders slumped a little, her anxieties gone. "We need to get outta here though." I looked back at Nicholas. He had slipped his hands into his jacket and watched as we headed towards Steve.

He was evidently awaiting someone needing a ride down the hill and jumped to help us in our seats. "I'm fine. Really." Anna insisted to both Steve and I as we tried to get her buckled in.

"Let's just go." I sighed as I climbed in the front again. Nicholas had turned his attentions back towards the blond as we pulled away.

The ride was short and both Anna and I were pleased to climb into our car. Anna snuggled her face against the soft seat, fighting sleep as she watched me lock the doors when we climbed in. "Still afraid?"

I shrugged, attempting to hide my anxieties. "Were you really up that late?"

Her head nodded just the tiniest bit.

"And were you doing what I think all night?"

She looked up at me through lazy eyelids. A smirk spread across her face and she whispered, "I can barely walk."

We both let out nervous chuckles and I nodded my head, "I wassosore when I woke up this morning."

"Is it gone now?"

I turned the ignition over and began to pull out of the parking lot. I thought of the anguish that I felt between my legs this morning. The ride down the hill met some of the same bumps going up the hill had, and each time the car lurched I felt an uncomfortable throb between my legs. I shook my head. "Nicholas's a big boy though." I thought, wondering if it was true about all of him.

"Yeah." She sighed into a sleepy state. On the thruway I noticed a silver car behind me. The windows were tinted and my mind flew back to the silver car at the entrance to the set that I had assumed was Seth. I never asked him if it had been. If it had been him, would he have had that much time to put on makeup? I groaned at my own anxieties. Silly. It was probably someone late for work and just told the guard I was with him to get me out of the way.

When we reached the hotel room, it was only moments before Anna had collapsed, still in the same clothes from the night before, into a deep sleep. I slipped into the bathroom to make the appropriate phone calls to change the signing. I flipped open my computer and typed in Seth's name on allmovies.com. I didn't want to be surprised about his name or movies again. I was caught off guard to find that he was only 24 while I was 26. For good measure I looked up Nicholas Roth- he came up as Remus under theBlood Scentmovie website.

Around noon I ordered us some room service, and ate alone, waiting for Anna to wake up. Before she had, though, I found my happy belly lulling me into an afternoon nap. After all, I had to sleep off my hangover as well.