Not good enough

Part 4

“Do you feel better?” Chris smiles at her while they are on their way to dinner and damn, that smile… Sarah blushes. What is going on here? Damn, you´re here for a job. Don´t act like a little school girl.

“Yeah… thank you...”

“Alright, here we are!”

Chris parks the car, sprints over and opens Sarah’s door. Wow, a gentleman.

As they enter he restaurant, he places his hand on her back to lead her to the area that is reserved for the film crew. She doesn´t feel uncomfortable, as she usualy does when people get to close to her. But not with Chris.

As they enter the room, John and Ben are there already.

Ben looks at Sarah, but she avoids even looking into his direction. She´s pissed off. Her personal stuff is not his business. And deep inside, she´s afraid that he could have found something. That would have been horrible, because she sure knows that this would have caused the worst fight they may have ever had.

The crew enjoys dinner, and everyone is exhausted, but in a great mood. Ben can’t help but notice that Chris and Sarah seem to get along especially well. He does not leave her side, he complements her and they share lots of laughs. He is happy about that, seeing her all relaxed, but he is also a bit jealous.

Are they flirting? Damn, they are. Is that good? He does not know.

“I can bring you home if you want” Chris offers after dinner. “Yeah, I’d like that” Sarah smiles at him.

As they are about to leave, Ben calls after Sarah and walks up to them. Sarah and Chris both turn around. She looks at Chris, who just raises his eyebrows and heads to the car. Sarah looks after him then turns to Ben.

“What?” Ben comes close and puts his hands around her waist.

“I am sorry. Okay? I was just worried. I am a jerk sometimes.” He looks into her eyes. Sarah bites her lip. “I told you I am not gonna screw this up, okay?”

Chris turns around, just to see Sarah in Ben’s arms. It bothers him. What is going on between them?

„Hey, would you mind if I keep you company?” John asks Chris as he steps out of the restaurant. “Looks like I gotta wait for my ride!”

“Not at all man, not at all. So – do you enjoy the work so far?”

“Of course! It´s the first time we are able to do OUR thing, you know.... not some small projects.... so that is really great… thanks again for that opportunity man, we really appreciate that…”

“You’re welcome. Read the script and loved it.”

“Thanks man… we worked really hard, especially Sarah, who wrote most of the script, and now it all seems to pay off finally.”

“Yeah, Sarah…  by the way, she and Ben... are they … are they a couple?” Chris asks, trying to hide his interest.

“Ben and Sarah? No. Not any more. They were, until a year ago. But it…. well, it didn´t really work out.” John goes on.

“What happened?”

John looks at him. Why shouldn´t he tell him.

“Well, they were really in love. But they are both strong characters, especially Sarah. She had to be strong and independent since she was a child, as her parents died in a car accident. She had to live with her uncle, who she really didn´t like. She had a horrible time there… let´s call it that… I think she wished to have someone to hold on to, and Ben was that one, he was always there for her. But as I said, they are both strong characters, and Sarah was never really ready to let herself totally go – she always did her own thing, and wanted no one to interfere with her life… so all they did was fighting on one day, and then they were all over each other the next day. It was ups and downs always.”

“Oh, I didn´t know that she lost her parents.”

“Yeah, she was having a hard time. When I first met her, she was 21. She lost her parents when she was 14 and then lived with her uncle. We met her when she was working at a club that we used to go to. That was when she and Ben… you know.” he says. “Well, then Ben and me asked her to work with us on a few projects… damn, that was almost four years ago, can you imagine that?”

John smiles and looks up to the sky. “We tried hard to make our own movie work, but it was really hard, damn, there were times when we really wanted to give up… but during that relationship with Ben, Sarah wrote some of her best stuff… sometimes I think Sarah wasn´t really happy with this script being released. For her, it is too personal, too much of herself I guess. She gets very emotional, because she really IS the person in that script. If that makes any sense.”

“The script is brilliant. And yeah, it got me emotional too” Chris says and suddenly remembers Sarah’s face when she shot that scene today. She looked sad, and now he understands why. That was not acting. That was real.

“It is… I think it´s the best she ever wrote. I think it also helped her to get over some personal shit, you know…” John stops and stares at Chris. Damn, he said too much. That´s none of his business and not sure as hell not Chris’.

“Yeah, you´re doing a great job, and I am sure everything will be fine” Chris replies and taps his shoulder. “What are you guys talking about?” Ben interrupts them. He has Sarah in tow.

“Uhm… you still driving with me?” Chris asks her. “If the offer is still up” Sarah winks at him.

“Of course it is!” He offers her his arm. “Ma’am!” He makes a funny face. Sarah laughs. She always had a thing for guys who would make her laugh. She just hadn’t enjoyed a good laugh in a long time.

“Sir!” she replies and hooks her arm through his.

Ben looks at that scene. He isn’t sure if he feels happy for her, or if he is mad that Sarah seems to get along so well with another guy. He watches them get into Chris’ car, laughing, and finally driving off.

“So, did you enjoy dinner?” Chris asks while they are on their way.

“Yes, sure did” Sarah gives him a smile. She looks at him, and she likes what she sees. His strong arms on the steering wheel. His eyes focused on the street. His muscular chest showing through his tight shirt. His beard. His hair. He looks so fine. And he smells so damn good. It might be the three glasses of wine she had, but she feels flirty.

“I am just kind of sad that the evening is over so early” she sighs, knowing too well how that will sound to a guy.”

Chris peeks over at her. She is snuggled onto the seat, her dress revealing her toned legs, her hair falling softly over her firm breasts.

“Really. Is that so” he says in a deep, soft voice.

“Mhm…Really.”

He smiles over that. Should he try and make a move?