First Encounter (A Perri Kiely story)

Chapter 1

Perri dropped his tired body down and reached for his skate laces. He was desperate to get some cool air to his aching feet. He'd been on the ice for five hours with only a short break for lunch and the toilet.

"Part timer!" teased Vanessa as she sailed past him. He had serious doubts about whether his professional skating partner had any nerves in her feet.

A sudden knot gripped his belly, it was November, and the Christmas special was around the corner, he was going to be skating on ice in front of an audience. He threw his skates away as if throwing away his anxiety. There was a small yelp in the direction of the discarded skates. Perri looked up and saw a terrified girl balancing hot drinks and avoiding the tumbling sharp shoes.

"Oh My God I'm so sorry" Perri gasped. He shot up from the bench and hurried over to her. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, they didn't hit me" the girl replied, smiling. Perri stared down at her, he was suddenly transfixed by this pretty young woman's smile. He couldn't stop staring, she had brilliant blue eyes and long flowing brown hair that fell about her shoulder in gentle waves, she was slim and toned, maybe she was a professional skater he thought. "Um, I have to get these to the office before they go cold," she added and hurried away. Perri watched her retreating form and committed her face to memory. He hadn't seen her before, but he absolutely wanted to see her again.

Vanessa interrupted his thoughts when her skates loudly scratched the ice and sprayed him with slush.

"Oi" he pretended to scowl as he brushed the wet ice off his hoody. "You're gonna have to come off that ice sometime, and I'll be waiting!" he threatened. Vanessa grinned and swung her body into a spin.

"Bring it on," she giggled. She enjoyed their play. Maybe a bit too much Perri worried, he was sure Rory wouldn't like it. But it helped make the long rehearsals bearable.

He finished putting his trainers back on and retrieved his skates, fitting the guard on them. His mind wondered back to the girl he had almost injured, who was she? He thought he remembered seeing a lanyard, if she did work for the production team he needed to find out more.

He walked back to his room, that was his favourite place in the Bovingdon studio, because he could retreat from all the madness. He dumped his skate bag on the floor and took a sip from his water bottle. He tried to think of the rest of the day's plans but nothing could push the image of her lovely face from his mind. He felt sad at the thought of never seeing her again. He slumped down on the sofa and stared at the desk opposite. As his eyes focussed on the items on the desk he had an idea. He bolted upright and grabbed the blue folder lying on the desk. It was a show information pack for all the celebrities. Most of the competitors discarded theirs as soon as they were issued it, but Perri liked to be prepared, it was a useful file full of contact names and numbers, and other information relating to the show and the studio. He scanned the staff names and photos running his fingers down the list until he found what or who he was looking for. He took a sharp intake of breath at the pretty face that had grabbed his attention earlier and was now smiling at him from the page. "Laura Bryony Smith...production runner" he read out loud.

He snapped the folder shut as he heard voices in the corridor outside his room, he recognised Vanessa's slight German accent, he grabbed his water bottle and hurried to stand behind his door with his back to the wall.

Vanessa opened the door cautiously and called out. She could see his bag on the floor so she ventured in a little more. Perri slammed the door shut as she stepped further into the room which made her jump and whip round, just in time to feel him snake his arm around her waist, hoist her off the floor and dump cold water on her head.

"PERRI!" she screamed "Dummkopf" she yelled again trying to twist out of his grip. Perri howled with laughter and held her tight, making sure the bottle was completely emptied before allowing her to drop back down on the floor. The pair collapsed on the sofa laughing. Vanessa slapped Perri's chest as hard as she could, it stung but it was worth it as he hissed in pain.

"argh" Perri complained, rubbing his smarting chest.

"That's what you get for ruining my hair!" Vanessa chided, she rubbed the area she had just smacked and smiled at him as he handed her a towel. As she attempted to soak up the worst of the water, she watched him stand up and collect his things.

"You off to rehearsals?" she asked, sounding a little crestfallen.

"Yep, Panto" He grabbed Vanessa's hands and pulled her up off the sofa. "So you can go torture someone else." he finished, letting go of her. She draped the damp towel on the radiator and turned to hug him. She squeezed him tightly and smiled as he squeezed her back.

"Make sure you eat first."

"Yes mum" he rolled his eyes.

"See you tomorrow then?" She let go before he got weirded out and straightened her already straight hoody and cleared her throat. Perri tapped his smart watch.

"Ahhh I'm late for the car... Bye" Perri called, already out of his room "Lock the door for me please?" and he was gone.

Vanessa stood in his room and breathed in deeply, she hadn't realised she was enjoying his scent, she just felt calm surrounded by his smell. She needed to get out of these damp clothes, what an idiot she thought, smiling to herself. She took one last look around Perri's room and left, closing the door softly behind her.