Caring

II

Image: credit to owner
Prompt: Flirting in public
Warning: Mature scenes and language

He was smirking at her from across the room. He had been for a while. In fact, every time she looked in his direction he would catch her eye, hold the eye contact and then smirk.

It wasn't a smile. She knew his smiles – every single one of them. She could tell the difference between his genuine smile where his eyes lit up and the ones where he was just being kind. She knew the difference between his smile for the fans and his smile for her.

She knew him more than she wanted to, more than she needed to.

She knew him more than he wanted her to.

He was James Reid, the quiet guy in showbiz, private and often misunderstood.
She was Nadine Lustre, his leading lady, his confidant, his partner.

Glancing away from his gaze she looked back at the woman she was currently having a conversation with. She smiled politely as the woman continued to ramble on about something. She hadn't been paying attention for the last 10 minutes because she could just feel a pair of eyes burning a hole into her.

"Excuse me for a moment."

After excusing herself she walked over to him. He was sat by the bar, a drink in one hand. When he saw her making her way towards him he smirked again and patted the seat next to him. She ignored him.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Her voice was shaky and it was clear how much his actions were affecting her.
He smiled innocently this time, an expression of amusement on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's a birthday party. You should be talking to people, having fun. Not staring at me."

"Staring? I wouldn't call it staring."
He was being weird. His voice was playful and not the goofy kind of playful either.

"Oh really James? What else would you call it?" She played along with him.

"I was simply admiring the view."

Damn. He was flirting with her. She blushed uncontrollably.
This wasn't the first time he made her feel like this so Nadine couldn't understand why she was so shocked. Recently, he had been acting strange around her. They were beginning to have awkward situations which was very rare for them. James and Nadine just did not do awkward. Having been partners for almost two years they were enough comfortable around each other, even when shooting the most romantic scenes. She assumed their friendship was the reason.

But there was something neither of them could deny. The spark between them was unbelievable. Whether it be on screen or off screen, their chemistry just flowed so naturally. She didn't know why and neither did he. Both of them had become accustomed to just turning it off, like a little switch. They worked hard for their careers and despite the attraction they felt towards each other they wouldn't call their relationship anything other than friendship...for now.
It was an unspoken rule between them. But James was breaking the rules now, like always.

She had to clear her throat before replying. Why was her mouth going dry? Maybe it was the way he was grinning at her now.
"That's a nice way to put it, I'll take it as a compliment."

He put his glass down and stood up now. Taking a step closer to her, he bit his lip and looked at her with a different gaze. Not like normal, no, this gaze made her feel like she was the only person in the room, it made her feel like she was on fire. In a good way.

"You look good today." His hand went to her waist and pulled her closer so he was whispering in her ear now. "You look hot."

Holy shit. He didn't seem drunk but his actions were making her think he was. Was it just her or did the room become so much warmer? Her ears were burning.

She took a step back so it didn't look like they were hugging or kissing or making out. Crap! What was she thinking?
"James, are you-" Her response was cut short when she heard someone shout, "Nadine! James!"

Turning around she saw their road manager walking towards them, with a group of reporters right behind her. Perfect timing.

Nadine smiled and nodded politely when they asked for a small interview. She glanced at James who seemed to have composed himself again. In no time they were answering the questions – about the party, about their recent projects, their plans for the next month.
James put his arm on her shoulders as she answered one of the questions. It was normal, but in light of recent events she froze for a few seconds and stuttered a little. He noticed, she could tell by how he chuckled slightly under his breath.
Then they came to the last question, the one she was dreading. It was inevitable that it'd be asked.
"So what's Jadine's status right now?"
James turned to her and smiled, as if he was waiting for her to answer it. She wasn't going to. She didn't know what to say. Just friends? Partners? Best friend who she was extremely attracted to?
"Well I've already answered it so it's your turn." She said whilst laughing, trying to brush off her discomfort about the situation.

He bit his lip, still looking at her and then smirked. Again.
"What did you say?" He turned and asked her instead. She felt his hand squeeze her shoulder slightly. What was he trying to do?
Nadine let out a small laugh again, remembering the reporters still stood in front of them. "Why are you looking at me? Just answer it."
"We're..." He paused. She held her breath as she felt the blush creep up again. Maybe she should've answered. James was being strange today.
"...busy." He finished with a smile.

We're busy.
Wow he had a way with his answers -there was no questioning that response. She laughed and thanked the reporters before they left.

Once he was sure there were no cameras facing them, James' arm fell from her shoulders and back to her waist.
"Why are you going red?" He said with the trademark smirk gracing his features once more. She avoided eye contact and just muttered, "I'm just warm."
He grabbed her hand this time and led her out of the room and outside into the cold night. There was no one around and she suddenly felt uncomfortable - no, scared - about being completely alone with him. She was afraid of being unable to control her feelings.

"James, people are going to wonder where we are. Why have you brought me here?"

"Because you said you were feeling warm." He replied as if it was the most obvious excuse. He was still too close to her but there was nothing she could do. Her back was already against the wall.
"Oh," was all she could say in reply.

"It was amusing earlier." She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Making you blush."

Nadine stayed quiet as her heart began racing again.
One of his hands went to her waist again while the other rested just beside her face on the wall. She was trapped between the wall and him.

"Why was it amusing?" She was whispering now for some unknown reason.

"Because..." he said, his face coming closer to hers, "....it showed you want this..." He was just inches away from her now, their bodies pressed against each other.

"You want it...just as much as I do."

She had barely registered what he said before his lips crashed onto hers.

The rest of the night was a blur and Nadine didn't mind in the slightest.

James hadn't lied earlier in the interview.

They were busy.

Very busy indeed.

A/N: Hi guys! This is the second oneshot I had written up. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Some of you may recognise parts of the dialogues used as I took them directly from Jadine interviews - I'd just like to say again that this is all part of my imagination and these scenes are purely fictional *insert sad face*