The Crew | On Hold

Chapter 24

As I scan my ID card against the card-reader at the security gate, a cheerful voice calls my name from behind me. Turning around to see who can possibly be so cheerful on a Monday morning, I notice Alex, running towards me, his hands full of plastic bags.

"Morning, Emma!" Alex greets me breathlessly, as he puts the bags on the ground besides him, digging around in his pockets to find his ID card.

I eye the bags, wondering what is in them and why Alex is bringing them to work today. "Hi, Alex." I force a natural smile, trying to conceal the truth about my bad night's sleep just like I concealed my under eye suitcases with some Tarte 'Shape Tape'. "How are you so cheery on a Monday morning?"

Alex finally finds his ID card and scans it. "Oh, is it really necessary to be grumpy on a Monday morning?" He smiles a brilliant smile at me, and begins to pick up his multiple bags. They look kinda heavy, so I instantly offer to help. Alex gladly accepts my help, and even lets me in on a secret as he carries the bags, slightly huffing. "Besides, today is a special day," He grins at me. "It's Anna's birthday."

My mouth drops. Anna's birthday? Hell. I don't have a gift for her. "Birthday? Today?" My mind is whirling, trying to come up with at least a single plan how to get her a birthday gift with the limited means of money and time I have. I am at work quite early so I still have some time until I have to start working, but I don't really know the neighbourhood. What if there are no good stores here? What if there are only really fancy and expensive things in the stores here? Shit.

Alex looks at me sympathetically as we reach our trailers. I can't go into mine, obviously, since it's more Anna's than mine, but I do help Alex carry his stuff to the trailer he shares with his soulmate twin known as Matilda.

Their trailer is neat and cute. There are less flowers than in Anna's trailer, but there are lots of photos of Alex and Matilda. In other cases I would love to hang around and check them out, maybe even drink a cup of tea with Alex and Matilda while catching up on our weekend, but today is not the day. Today is the day where I am the worst assistant on the planet and forgot my boss's birthday.

"Okay, do you need help with anything else? I need to run to the nearest store, actually find the store and get a present for Anna." I scratch my head, thinking where the nearest store might be. I haven't really noticed any stores around here, just places to eat and parks, but maybe there is some shop I just never noticed. There has to be.

My palms are sweaty, so I rub them against my jeans. Thanks to the bad dream, I had lots of time to dress and even put make up on, so today my look isn't screaming 'I woke up late and wasn't bothered to dress cute'. Though my look is just as black as usual, today I've added a black t-shirt with a band logo and my leather jacket that didn't fit me a few years ago, but I recently found it while cleaning the house, and now it's my favourite thing ever. Especially in this chilly weather.

Alex shakes his head as he starts to unload his bags. Lots of party hats and colourful boxes start to pile up on the floor, so I spare Alex one last look to make sure he really doesn't need help with anything, and then I bolt out, desperate to get Anna a present and not get fired for being late.

I jog back to the security, but I am forced to stop and take a breather, when I spot Andrew and Nicole talking. They both giggle over something Andrew says as they swipe their ID cards. My heart skips a beat when Andrew looks up, and, noticing me, quickly winks at me. I smile at him while Nicole is looking down at her phone and texting someone, but as the unpleasant memories of my dream resurface in my mind. Though overshadowed by the worries about Anna's gift, they still make me feel like someone has punched me in the gut. My face immediately hardens and I resume jogging.

"Morning!" I greet them as I speed past them through the gate, earning a suspicious look from the security guy named Garry - a dark-skinned man well into his forties with a receding hairline, known around the campus for his sense of humour. Just last week he was joking around with me, acting horrified by my ripped up jeans and offering money to buy me new ones.

I don't look back at them, but I hear Andrew calling my name. I don't stop, of course, because I have no time. I need to find a present and I need to do it soon. And I need to gather my feelings for Andrew and the dream, because they seem to be all around the place, not allowing me to focus on things that are important.

I almost reach the corner of the gate that stretches around the whole studio, when I hear footsteps behind me, and then firm fingers twirl around my arm, stopping me in my tracks and also reminding me about the dream.

Just like in the dream, I look up and my eyes meet Andrew's. This time he is smiling at me, looking proud and accomplished of himself that he caught me. "Didn't know you were such a fast runner, Em."

His heartbreakingly beautiful smile completely melts my insides, and I find myself relaxing in his arms. The dream, the birthday present, the fear of being discovered... They all just slowly evaporate as I stare into my favourite pair of eyes.

"Where are you running, anyway? Did Anna make you run to Starbucks for a special drink on her birthday?" He smirks, looking charming as ever. He places his arm around my waist and his other hand sneaks it's way onto my butt. Thank God this area is still secured and nobody from the outside walks around here, because then my heart would be beating even faster than it is doing now, adding adrenaline to my already jumpy pulse. At least now there is a smaller chance of us getting caught being all lovey-dovey like this.

"I forgot that it's her birthday today." I confess, feeling like a little child, who is revealing their parents that they did something bad, awaiting their wrath of anger. "And I don't have a present for her." My eyes find an imaginary point on the ground and I avoid Andrew's eyes, not wanting to see the disapproval in his eyes.

Andrew places his fingers under my chin and pushes it up, forcing me to look at him. His grey gaze lingers on my lips and a tiny moan escapes my lips, embarrassing me and heating up my face quickly.

He slides his thumb across my lips. Thanks to my trusty lip balm, they are soft and puffy, making my pout appear more attractive and full. Andrew seems to think my lips are nice, too, as his tongue darts across his lips.

Andrew leans in slowly to kiss me, his eyes looking into mine as his lips are only an inch away from pressing into mine. Without my consent, my body inches itself closer to Andrew, but a car honk disturbs us.

We both leap away from each other and immediately look at the car, but there is only an old man, who's driving a golf cart, laughing at us and feeling all proud that he broke up our kiss.

Andrew and I both sigh a long breath of relief that it wasn't someone from the crew. We now stand further apart, but the regret in Andrew's eyes lets me know that he wishes the man hadn't disturbed us. "Anyway, I came after you because I wanted to tell you something."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion as my breathing comes back to normal. However, my heart doesn't stop beating rapidly. Heck, these days it rarely ever beats normally. Not with the way Andrew looks and is around me.

He smiles at me as he comes closer to me. When his arm locks around my shoulders, every hair on my body seems to stand up and goosebumps cover my entire body in just two seconds. I love it when he touches me. I crave more intimacy with certain someone, I realise. And that someone is very clearly Andrew. My Andrew.

We start to walk back to the studio. "I wanted to give you a present today, but since you need an emergency gift, you can give it to Anna." Andrew smiles at me and squeezes my shoulders in an affectionate way, making my heart skip a beat for the second time today.

Hello, my dear reader! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, that you'll vote for it, and, most importantly, that you'll continue reading the story. :)