Presque Vu

Chapter 5

Raina sat up on the bed next to Jared and brushed the hair back from Jared's shoulder, letting her fingers linger in its softness. Surely she had earned the right to touch it now. She planted a small kiss on his collarbone. "Thank you," she said with a sigh.

Jared gave her a little laugh and leaned over to give her a kiss, much more chaste than the ones that the evening had begun with. "I'm not sure what you're thanking me for. You were amazing." He pressed his forehead against hers, his thumb tracing her still swollen lips. "I'd ask to stay but the Hills are a long drive from here and I have an early appointment."

Raina sat back with a sigh. "Look, it's okay. You don't have to make excuses. It was great. We can just let it go at that."

Jared frowned at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Raina pulled a pillow in front of her, feeling much more naked than she had a few minutes ago. "I just," She couldn't look him in the eye. She didn't want this to be awkward but it was rapidly becoming exactly that. "I don't have any illusions here, okay? You don't have to try to spare my feelings or make excuses as to why you aren't going to stick around to cuddle now or why you won't be calling me next week."

He grabbed her chin so that she was forced to look at him. "You know," he said, "you've made a few comments tonight that really make me wonder what you think of me. I don't know where you've gotten the picture of me you have but I'm not that guy. At least I hope I'm not."

Raina shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. She realized that she had started this all with a lot of assumptions that weren't based on anything to do with the man in front of her. She also realized she was fast on her way into making this the exact mess she was trying to avoid. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean it that way. "

Jared gave her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "I do wish I could stay. You probably have an early morning too though right?" She nodded. He surveyed her with a quick glance. "So is this how you normally sleep?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

He made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Naked. Nude. Do you sleep like this or do you wear pajamas?"

"Uh, I usually wear a nightgown."

"Okay, where do you keep them?"

Raina was very confused now. She pointed at the dresser. "Over there, third drawer down on the right."

Jared took the pillow from her and stood up. "Why don't you go brush your teeth and clean up and I'll get your nightgown out." He held his hand out for her. "Come on.," he said gently, "I don't want to leave you like this."

Raina was unsure how to respond so she did as he asked, heading into the bathroom to wash up and get ready for bed. When she returned from the bathroom Jared was completely dressed, sitting on the edge of the turned down bed, holding what happened to be her favorite lavender nightgown. He smiled as she emerged.

"Here." He got up and pulled the nightgown over her head, lifting her dark hair out of the neck of the garment then smoothing it down over her. Taking her hand, he next guided her to the bed, settling her down carefully on the pillows before settling the blanket around her. "I wanted to tuck you in before I left." He brushed the hair from her face and then fished his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it before holding it out to her. "Would you put your number in? I can call you again, can't I?"

Raina smiled at this unexpected development. Who knew if he would actually call again, but she knew she would be a fool to pass up a chance for another night like the one she had just spent. She quickly added her contact information to the phone and handed it back to him. "Only if you want to. I don't want you to feel obligated or anything."

He sighed as he took the phone back. "I can see I have a lot of work to do here." Gently he kissed her again, lingering for just a bit longer than the last time. "I'm going to call. It may be a bit because I'm really busy right now, but I will call. Just give me a chance okay?"

"Okay," Raina conceded. This gave Jared a smile. He tucked his phone away, got up and switched the bedside light off before going to see himself out.

"Good night, Raina. Sweet Dreams."

The next day at the studio was complete chaos. They were supposed to be shooting a layout that included half a dozen models in futuristic costumes for a sci-fi piece the magazine was doing but the special effects makeup people they had coming in had been miss scheduled and showed up two hours late. Additionally, there was some sort of problem with some of the wardrobe pieces that left that department scrambling as well. The studio was filled with people, most of whom didn't work there on any regular basis and had no idea where things were, people were cranky and tripping over each other and touching things they shouldn't. Raina was sure Val was going to have a stroke any minute. She, however, was completely relaxed and unflummoxed by the pandemonium around her. She bobbed through the crowd with a smile, completely composed as she ran interference for Val and kept everything running as smoothly as possible. In a moment of distraction, she bumped into an equipment stand that dug into a tender bruise on her side that Jared had left when he bit down too enthusiastically. The initial wince immediately gave way as pleasant memories flooded back, and Raina found herself biting her lip to contain herself.

"What on earth is that look for?" Cassie was standing in front of her, brows furled but smiling. "You look like the cat that got the cream."

"Oh, Cas...." Raina didn't even begin to know where to start explaining the last day to her friend. She looked around to make sure no one could overhear. "Do you remember that band that we were photographing yesterday?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "I'm pregnant not brain damaged. Of course I do." She gave Raina a quick up and down look. "Why? What did you do?"

Raina giggled. "You mean who. Who did you do?"

Cassie's eyes grew wide. "You didn't!" When Raina only shrugged her shoulders Cassie gave her a friendly shove. "You did! Raina!" She laughed as she too looked around to be sure they weren't being listened in on. "I knew you wouldn't mind that I gave him your number. I'm sorry I didn't warn you but I couldn't find you before we finished packing out."

Raina gave Cassidy a puzzled look. "Wait, what? He didn't call me, I just gave him my number when he left last night."

Cassie shrugged. "Maybe he lost it? Or just wanted to be sure he had it?" She gave the area another furtive glance before continuing in a quieter voice. "So how was it?"

Raina started to answer her but almost as if on cue Val shouted for her from across the studio. "Amazing." was all she had time to answer before returning to her duties.

Whenever she would bump into something or stretch a bit too far there were twinges and aches to remind Raina of her erotic adventures of the previous night and the sexy man she had shared them with. It kept her smiling through the chaos and the day rushed past quickly. She was helping Cassie straighten up when her cell rang with a call from a number she didn't recognize.

"Oh, maybe that's Jared," she told her friend. "He did say he'd call, I just didn't expect it this soon."

Cassie got a strange look on her face. "Jared? Wait, Raina..." she reached for the phone but Raina was already answering it.

"Hello," came the voice on the other end. "Raina?"

"Hey. I'm surprised you're calling already." Cassie was making wild gestures with her arms but Raina just turned her back. "How was your day?"

"Um, it was fine thanks. I guess your friend told you I asked for your number. I hope that's okay." Feeling a rush of panic, Raina suddenly realized this was not Jared. She whirled back around to Cassie who was still trying to get her attention. Quickly she hit the mute button on the phone.

"What did you do?" Raina hissed at her. "Who did you give my number to?"

Cassie bit her lip and looked back at Raina sheepishly. "Shannon."