A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I have a lot going on right now school wise and am pretty overwhelmed with work 24/7, so it's hard to sit down and finish a chapter sometimes, but I'm trying my best! I haven't forgotten about you guys or these stories!

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Chapter 33

The next morning, I woke up to the best message I could have received from Sophia – a text so simple but which still managed to leave me with the most ridiculous smile on my face, one that lingered for the rest of the morning and even made Blake curious.

"Why do you look so happy?" he asked on our way to grab some breakfast from the food cart. "You look like you just got laid."

I shook my head. "Not quite. She forgave me, man. She actually forgave me." I even pulled out my phone to show him the proof: I forgive you. I had no idea three little words could make me feel so much. I kind of felt like throwing up from excitement. Was that normal? That didn't seem normal.

"Well, damn," he said. "I owe Tori twenty bucks."

"Why would you owe her twenty bucks?"

"We made a bet on how long it would take Sophia to let you off the hook."

I narrowed my eyes. "And what was your guess?"

He grinned sheepishly. "I believe my exact words were when the first cow lands on the moon and establishes a colony."

"Thanks for the support, buddy." I rolled my eyes. "It's nice to know I can always count on you to believe in me."

"Do I really need to remind you of how complicated your relationship with her has always been? You can't blame me for doubting you," he said. "Bubba and I have talked about it extensively – okay, I've talked and he's listened – and even he was like, 'Eh, I don't know man.'"

"... Okay, that's probably fair." I looked up and my eyes met with Sophia's. "Shut up, she's right over there."

"I wasn't even saying anything anym—"

I slapped his side. "Shh! Hey, Sophia."

She raised an eyebrow at our exchange. "Hey. Everything okay here?"

Blake opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly cut him off. God only knew what was about to come out of his mouth. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"One of the interns told me Nora was looking for us," she said. "I don't think we've done anything wrong this time, but has she said anything to you?"

"No, this is the first I've heard of it," I said. I glanced behind her and noticed Nora was quickly approaching us. "Speak of the devil. I mean, director. Devil sounds kind of disrespectful, doesn't it?"

She laughed, and all I wanted to do was say something stupid again so I could hear that sound one more time. "Just a bit. Hey, Nora."

"You guys weren't in your trailers, so I figured I'd follow the food and find you," Nora said with a laugh. "Listen, the producers and I have been talking, and we have a scene that we've been sitting on for a while, but I think we might go through with it and just go ahead and shoot it even if we don't end up using it."

"What scene?" Sophia asked.

Nora's lips twitched upwards. "It's a sex scene. It would go after the romantic dinner and dance scene."

"We're doing a what scene?" Sophia repeated.

"I haven't said we're doing anything yet," Nora said. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just telling you it's a possibility. I'll let you guys know for sure soon, but I just wanted to warn you that it is still in the works."

"But – it's not even in the script," Sophia spluttered.

Nora shrugged. "It's up in the air right now."

Sophia turned to me, clearly looking for moral support, but the words that ended up coming out of my mouth were, "Whatever you decide, I'm fine with."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Why don't you just tie the mattress to your back already?"

"Well, I'm glad to see things are back to normal," I said with a chuckle.

"And I'm glad to see you've stopped acting like a lovesick puppy."

"Don't get your hopes up, half-pint," I said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I still like you." Maybe it went a little farther than that, but I didn't want to scare her off just when I'd finally gotten on her good side.

She pushed my arm away and slapped at my hand when I tried to bring it closer to her again. "Is it really necessary to tell me that a dozen times a day?"

"It is when you react like this," I said, my lips curling up into a half-smile. She was always cute, but even more so when she was mad at me. Not legitimately mad, as in I'm-going-to-Photoshop-pictures-of-you-and-a-man-together mad, but playfully mad.

She didn't look impressed, which just made me smile wider. I probably shouldn't have been purposely pushing her buttons right after she'd let me off the hook, but I couldn't help myself. Besides, if I stopped annoying her, she'd think something was wrong with me. Annoying each other was the best part of our days.

Nora finally spoke up. I'd honestly forgotten she and Blake were still standing there. "I have to get back to work, but don't forget we're shooting one of our biggest scenes today. You can go fight during your lunch break, but make sure you're ready to kick the romance up a notch."

"We're doing one of our big scenes today? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Sophia asked.

"Big scene" usually translated into a scene where we did more than fight, i.e. say romantic shit or make out, i.e. I wasn't going to complain.

"I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't catch a sudden cold," Nora said with a wry smile.

"Why are you complaining? I thought we were cool," I said. Not going to lie – my feelings were a little hurt that I was once again excited about getting to kiss her, while she was dreading it.

"I said I forgave you, not that I wanted to shove my tongue down your throat."

"Think of it this way," Nora said. "The more powerful the rest of your romantic scenes together are, the less likely we'll need a sex scene."

Sophia looked pretty satisfied with that answer, but still exited the conversation by saying, "I'll be in my trailer wallowing in self-pity if anyone needs me."

All I could do was roll my eyes. There was no taking the drama queen out of an actress.

***

I watched Tori drag Sophia onto the set while I was sitting in my own makeup chair – I mean, enhancement chair – getting ready to shoot this "big" scene or whatever. I was trying to act nonchalant about it in hopes that it would actually make me appear nonchalant – easier said than done.

She was pulled into her own makeup chair, with makeup and hair artists taking their turns on working their magic on her. Not that she really needed "magic," per se. She usually came in bare-faced in the morning since we both had to go to hair and makeup every day, and it honestly didn't make much of a difference to me.

She finally joined me on the set as we were called into place. They'd kind of drifted from the book for this part, mostly because making up outside in the rain was more romantic than making up in a mall. Plus, it made for better visuals. Artificial rain poured down on us, and Sophia looked up at it with a scowl. Honestly, I wasn't sure what was in this stuff, but the camera couldn't catch natural raindrops so artificial rain it was.

"It's part of the script," I said, trying not to laugh at the disgruntled look on her face. "It's supposed to be raining right from the start."

"I know that," she said. "This better be waterproof makeup."

"If not, you'll look a wet raccoon," I said, regretting the words as soon as they came out of my mouth. Wet raccoon? That was the best I could do?

"Gee. Thanks."

"A cute wet raccoon?" I tried.

She just rolled her eyes, right as the assistant director called out, "Ready?" to us. He had already made sure the sound, camera, and director were ready. Sophia and I both said yes, and with the actors checked off the list, we were ready to go.

"Action!" Nora called out.

It took a few tries to get through the opening dialogue, at first because Sophia had fumbled a few lines, and then because I'd done the same. I think we were both just nervous. We'd made out on camera before – and off camera, I guess – but the dynamic between us had visibly shifted, and neither of us knew what to do with it at that point. I knew what I wanted to do with it, but I didn't know what was going through her mind at that point.

Sophia's character had convinced my character to meet her out in public in a crowded area to talk, and more importantly, to apologize. Of course, it just so happened to be raining, just to make sure there was a romantic kiss in the rain.

"I'm sorry, Will," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I went about it all wrong, and I should've told you my plan from the beginning, but I promise everything I said to you was true. I wasn't lying to you about how I feel. I was just lying to myself. I meant what I said, Will. I still do."

"How do I know this isn't just another one of your schemes? How do I know you're not just messing with me again?"

"It was never about messing with you," she said. "Well, not about this, anyway. It wasn't like that. And I'll prove it to you." She looked down and started taking off the jacket and loose pants that she was wearing. Underneath was the famed cat onesie that was always brought up in regards to our story.

"Holy –" My mouth fell open. "You're wearing the onesie."

"I'm wearing the onesie," she said with a laugh, throwing aside the more-fashionable top layers she'd been wearing.

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"I'm embracing the onesie and all of its qualities – both good and bad. Sure, it's kind of dorky and embarrassing, but it's also hilarious, soft, and warm, so it's kind of worth it," she said. "And just look at this fine craftsmanship." She pinched the fabric of the onesie near her waist.

My lips twitched upwards. "Only kind of worth it?"

"I take it back," she said, a mesmerizing smile crossing her face. "It's worth it."

I grabbed her by the waist and brought her closer to me, ignoring the people that were passing by us and staring, probably at her ridiculous outfit choice. "Prove it to me, then."

"Will, I'm wearing a freaking space cat onesie," she said in an exasperated tone. "What more do you want from me?"

I laughed. "I know. I just want a little bit more."

"And what would that entail?"

"I want you to show me you care," I said. But I didn't give her a chance to respond. Instead, I pulled her even closer to me, to the point where our bodies had completely melded together, and closed my eyes, pressing my lips onto hers.

Maybe it was all acting on her part. Maybe she didn't feel a thing. But the way she was kissing me back, her hand entangling itself in my hair and her lips eagerly moving against mine, made me feel like this wasn't so one-sided after all. And when I nudged her lips open with my tongue – even though the script didn't specify we needed to go there – she didn't push me away or hit me for it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was as into it as I was. Or maybe she was just that good.

We kept at it for way longer than we were supposed to. No one called cut or tried to stop us, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. Worst case scenario, we'd have to shoot the scene again – and what a sacrifice it would be to have to make out with Sophia again.

Finally, she pulled away from me, but just slightly. She still had her hand entangled in my hair and another on my chest, while my arms were still wrapped around her. Her cheeks had a tinge of pink and her eyes were wide with a "what the fuck just happened?" look on her face, and she'd never looked more beautiful to me.

"Cut! Yes, that's it! That's the shot!" Nora yelled, standing up and clapping like a maniac. It was enough to get Sophia and me to stop staring at each other in shock and look over. Had Nora really had such little faith in us that she thought we wouldn't be able to get this right? Geez. "That was exactly what I needed from you guys. I knew I'd made a good choice when I decided to support you two. I knew you could do it. I knew it!"

I hadn't even realized Tori was on the set until I heard her screaming about what had just happened. That voice – and the volume level she was able to reach – was hard to miss. "Oh, my god, guys," she screamed. "That was hot! Somebody turn the temperature down over here, because things are burning up! The air's on fire! Ouch!"

Sophia noticeably grimaced at her best friend's antics before turning back to look at me. But besides sparing a few glances at Nora and Tori during their outbursts, I'd been staring at Sophia the whole time. I wanted to soak in as much of this moment as I possibly could. Doing this scene meant our time together was almost over.

On instinct, I leaned back down to try to kiss her again – just one more time – but she quickly leaned away from me. "What are you doing? The scene's over."

"It doesn't have to be," I said, tilting her chin back up and trying to channel the charm I'd once been known for. Not that it had ever really worked on her. "There can be two takes."

"So you can have another chance to drown me in slobber? No thanks," she said. She could insult my kissing all she wanted, but that hadn't been the reaction of someone who felt like she was "drowning in slobber."

Instead of saying anything about that comment, I just laughed. "No. So I can see what that feels like just one more time..."

Sophia shook her head and disentangled herself from my arms, taking a few steps back. "No. No, the acting's over, Chris. Nora has the shots she needs." She shook her head again, but not really at me. It seemed more like she was shaking her head at herself, like she was at war with herself over this. You know what that meant? It meant I had a shot.

She started walking away from me, but invigorated by that kiss and by her reaction, I ran after her and pulled her back towards me.

"Chris." She looked at me sternly, keeping her face a safe distance from mine.

"You push me away, but when I bring you close to me, your body responds," I said, tilting her face back towards mine. "Like right now. And when I kiss you, your body responds."

"No, it doesn't," she insisted, but her body was doing exactly that – melting onto mine, right where it belonged.

"Like right now," I finished, ignoring her protests. As someone who had been on the receiving end of her rejections multiple times, I knew the difference. And everything about her body language, her facial expressions, and even her tone of voice, out-of-breath and longing, told me that this was different.

"Wha–"

But I didn't let her finish her question. I cut her protests off with my lips, and the results were immediate. Her protests died off and she pressed her body closer to mine, moving her lips against mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And not too long ago, I would've laughed at the idea that being with just one girl could feel so natural. But I was wrong. God, was I wrong. I'd never been happier to be proved so wrong.