Page 88 of Mistaken Impression

She reaches out, as though to touch him, but he pulls away and gets to his feet, looking down at me.

“Ella… there you are. I—I’m just going back to the rehearsal studio to fetch my things.”

I nod my head. “I’ll come with you.”

His lips twitch upward as he kicks his chair aside and waits for me to leave the room ahead of him. Once we’re out in the hall, I lean in to him slightly

“I still wanna scratch her eyes out.”

“Don’t let me stop you.”

I laugh and he joins in, and although we don’t touch each other, I can feel the connection between us as we pick up our pace and head back to the rehearsal studio.

Once we’re inside, Mac closes the door, leaning back against it, and lets out a long sigh.

“God… that was awful.”

“The show wasn’t. It was good.”

“Hmm… I just hated all that fuss.”

I move closer to him, resting my hands on his chest as he gazes down at me. “Would you like to come back to my place tonight?”

He frowns. “Don’t you want to come back to mine?”

“Does it matter where we are, as long as we’re together?”

His frown fades and his eyes light up in the most perfect of smiles. “When you put it like that, it doesn’t matter in the slightest, but I’ll need to go home first and pick up some clothes. Do you want to give me your address?”

“Why don’t I drive you home? You can pack a bag, and then I’ll take us back to my place.”

He puts his arms around me, holding me hard against him. “That’s not even remotely logical. If you’re going to drive us to my place, we might as well stay there.”

“It is logical.”

“How?”

“Because I have food.”

He chuckles, nodding his head, and bends to kiss me.

***

Mac

It only takes a few minutes to pack a bag. Like Ella, I’ve brought a couple of shirts and some spare black jeans, just in case I end up staying more than one night. I also grabbed two of the tight black t-shirts I need for work, which is enough to get me to the weekend. Ella waited in the car, telling me she was going to call her brother, and when I return to her, I can see she’s still talking. She notices me coming, though, and pops the boot of her car, so I can dump my bag in there before I get in beside her.

“I don’t know why they made us keep it a secret, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

She looks over at me with a smile and I smile back, resting my hand on her thigh. Her brother’s saying something and while she listens, I study her face. I’m still astounded by her beauty every time I look at her, but today there’s somethingdifferent. She seems more relaxed, more confident… happier, and I wonder if that’s got anything to do with last night.

She had me scared for a while, when she was giving me the cold shoulder and refusing to talk. I don’t take to fear very well, and rather than ignoring her obvious discomfort, I sat her on the couch and she explained her insecurities about the way I have to act around Vivian. I don’t think it was me she had a problem with, so much as Vivian, because although Ella asked about kissing and sex scenes, she didn’t mention any of the other actresses I’ve had to perform with while making the show. She can’t have forgotten last week, and the ‘lie’ I told Bonnie about being with someone else, when she asked me out. It wasn’t so much a lie as an exaggeration, because in my head I was already with Ella, but her problem definitely seemed to be with Vivian. I got the feeling she needed reassurance… and I was happy to provide it.

I stopped short of telling her I loved her, in case she thought I was playing games, throwing ‘love’ into the mix to cover an indiscreet thought, or word, or deed, with Vivian. Instead, I told her I care… or I dropped a huge hint at it, anyway. And then I made love to her, like I’ve never made love to anyone in my life. That wasn’t intentional or planned in any way. I’d practically ripped her clothes off in my desperation to be inside her. But when she was naked beneath me, it was like I was overwhelmed with love for her… and the need to express it in the only way I could.

I took it slowly, hoping she’d get my unspoken message… and I think she must have done. Why else would she have just said it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we’re together?

“Like I told you earlier, it won’t be before the end of the season,” she says, shaking her head, still talking to her brother. “I know you want to meet him and as soon as we’re done recording, I’ll bring him down to Newport. Okay?”

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