Secrets and Lies (a Les Twins fanfic)

Chapter 14: Denial

Another week passed and the last few days of the Gaultier fashion shoot were wrapping up. Gabby was tying up loose ends, too.

It was Thursday and she was flying out on Sunday. She’d already emailed the rough draft of her article to Patrick and spent most of the week dodging Laurent hoping not to stir things back up with Larry.

Whatever the news about Les Twins’ secret project was, she thought maybe she was better off leaving it in Paris.

Tired of hanging out on the noisy set and craving some fresh air, she found a quiet place to check her email outside on a blanket under some trees between the main building and the studio.

“This is my spot.”

“I was here first.”

Laurent’s eyes smiled behind his shades as he nudged her with his foot. He’d found her hiding spot.

Clearly he still didn’t know anything about her argument with Larry.

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Gabby slapped at his ankles.

“We take break.”

She smirked and scooted over. Laurent totally ignored the space she made for him and sprawled out laying his head in her lap.

They were still sitting like that, Gabby reading emails with her iPad propped on Laurent’s chest and him contentedly listening to music on his own iPad, when some footsteps approached.

It was Sasha on the walkway coming out of the main building, but she didn’t notice the two of them. Someone opened one of the studio doors for her and she looked both ways before darting inside.

“What’s she doing sneaking on set?” Gabby’s curiousity was peaked.

Laurent pulled off his headset. “Who?”

“The girl I met yesterday. She works in craft services.”

“Oh yes…food girl.”

Gabby snickered and poked him in the arm. “Don’t call her that. Her name’s Sasha and she seemed pretty cool. What does that door lead to anyway?”

“To the dressing room.”

“Who’s dressing room?”

Laurent chuckled. “You really wanna know?”

“Ewwwww. No, nevermind.” Gabby wrinkled up her nose playfully. Larry was at it again.

“Don’t judge mon frère. He’s just having fun.”

“I’m not judging him. I wouldn’t do that. I’m just saying…you both have pretty girls falling over you all the time. Why haven’t I seen you…um…having fun?”

“It’s not same for me. I just like to be with one girl but most of them don’t get the way I am, how I act so crazy sometimes. Like my ex. I love her but I love dance, too. Some days dance is all I care about. She not understand this. Dance for me is like…it’s like…”

He searched for the words to explain.

“It’s like air.” Gabby filled in his blank. “I know. It’s the same way I feel about my writing.”

A heavy moment of silence passed between them until Laurent broke it.

“Here. I want you to listen to this.”

He passed her his headset and Gabby put it on expecting to hear some hip-hop. Instead, sensual music with a deep, rhythmic Caribbean tempo tickled her ears.

“It’s called Zouk. It’s from Guadeloupe where my family is from.”

“I love it.”

Gabby let the sound wash over her. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again Laurent was smiling up at her just like he had in the park that day.

He took her hand gently in his and held it to his chest. She could feel him breathing and his heart beating. It was like the music was a bubble with only the two of them inside it.

Then one of the director’s assistants stuck her head out of the studio door to call Laurent back to the set. The break was over.

He stood to leave. “You coming?”

“No. I think I’m gonna head back to the hotel a little early.”

“Okii, but you should meet us for dinner tonight. I text you the address.”

“Okay.”

Gabby watched him retreat into the building until the door closed.

Something was happening, but she was either too blind or too much in denial to see it.