Chapter 22: Sparks fly

---

R A Y N A

"What about Caleb?" I ask after several moments of staring at the deputy director of Distinguished Models.

Flo rolls her eyes and lets out an unnecessary groan of disapproval. "What about Caleb, Rayna? This is you we are talking about, not him."

I focus my attention on Mr Beaumont, ignoring Flo. "Is there anything for Caleb there?" I ask. "He was just as involved in this competition as me, probably even more so."

Mr Beaumont's expression falters as he scratches the back of his head. "I'm not sure there's... how do I put this lightly..."

"You're not sure there's what?" I press him to answer with another rash and hastily fired question.

Caleb places a hand on one of my shoulders and squeezes it slightly, like he's silently hinting for me to drop the topic. "Rayna, please—"

"Do me a favour and just shut up!" I whip around and stop him with harsh words and a stony look. "Let me handle this without you trying to be a chivalrous gentleman for once!"

I return my attention to Mr Beaumont with a pleading look. "Would there be a position for him? I never usually beg for anything, but please."

"Rayna!" Flo snaps and glares at me. Her snarl is almost predatory and gives the impression that she wants to tear me limb-from-limb.

Mr Beaumont simply shakes his head as a dour look makes its way onto his face. It is as clear as day to me that his response will not be one I like. "There is not. I am afraid I only see enough potential in the skills of yourself, Miss Harris," he tells me. "We only accept the most seasoned of people... Mr Fitrei simply isn't up to that standard."

I roll my eyes before I even have time to process just how rude the action is, especially after how much this man has just offered me.

If you had told me a month back what I am about to do, I would have probably laughed in your face. I'm Rayna Harris. I want what's best for my modelling career, no matter the costs or consequences. Back at the beginning of the rocky road that has been the Recommence competition, I would have squealed a hugely enthusiastic 'yes' in answer to this offer and hopped on the first plane to LA without a second thought.

But I don't.

"Then I'm afraid I can't accept your offer, sir," I declare, before whipping around and running toward the exit. I don't spare any of them a second glance as yank one of the double doors open and throw myself through.

Flo screeches a rather colourful array of words at me and demands that I return at once, but I pay her no mind. I am more taken by the sound of someone's footsteps from behind me, the person clearly following me as I scurry through the hallways of the hotel.

I quicken my pace as I head toward my assigned room, wanting five minutes alone to allow the reality of what has occurred to sink in.

"Rayna!" a male voice that I recognise all-too-well calls after me as the footsteps quicken in pace and audibility.

But I continue to run.

#

"Let me in, Storm Cloud."

I press my back further against the door with my head nestled between my hands, the position a replica of the one I was in last night.

Caleb taps the door for the third or fourth time in the last ten minutes. "Please, Rayna." He pleads, his voice slightly muffled through the door.

I remain silent and close my eyes, losing myself in thought. My decision is final. There is no way I am walking out on Caleb and leaving him amongst the rubble of our fifth-place finish.

Not after everything that has happened between us.

However, that does not alter the fact that Caleb will certainly think differently, hence why he's banging on my hotel room door right now. He won't want me to allow such a great opportunity to trickle down the drain. What he does not understand is that I simply cannot just watch his dreams diminish whilst I go off to live mine. It would be such a corrupt and unfair fate and not one that I will orchestrate or play a part in.

I hear him sigh through the door. "If you won't talk to me face-to-face, at least listen to what I have to say."

My mind and mouth still refuse to form a sentence and speak, but I breathe deep and I breathe loud, hoping to gift Caleb with a wordless sign that I am listening to him.

"What you did back there was insane. You threw away your dream job. Why did you do it?" He asks in quick succession, sounding agitated.

"Because it was right!" I snap back, finally finding my voice. "Did you really expect me to accept it and rub all of this in your face whilst that man shot you down? After all the work that you've put in? After how much I've tested you this last month?"

"Well, I certainly didn't expect you to decline an offer to work for the biggest modelling agency in LA," he scoffs. "I'm not about to allow you to do this just for my sake. You need to take this chance by the horns."

I rocket up to a standing position and grip the door handle so hard that my knuckles turn white. If there is one thing that I have established during my life so far, it is that I dislike taking orders from people.

Upon unlocking and yanking the door open with an unreasonable amount of force, I meet Caleb's earnest expression. He is clearly just as serious about all of this as I am, despite holding an opinion that completely differs from my own.

"This is not a decision that you, Flo, or anyone else can make for me!" I say through gritted teeth. "It's for me to make!"

"Rayna, listen to me for a second—"

"No, I've made my mind up, so stop trying to convince me otherwise!" I cut him off. "I'm staying here and I'm working with you."

He looks away and exhales deeply, appearing to drop his guard drop to an extent. "Can we discuss this inside at least?"

I nod in response and move out of the doorway, allowing him to enter. I close and lock the door behind us once he is inside and walk further into the room, slumping myself down on the edge of the lavish king-sized bed and gesturing for Caleb to sit down beside me.

"By stating that you want to work with me permanently, you realise it may never amount to anything, right?" He says as he sits down next to me, the mattress beneath us bouncing slightly as he deposits himself atop of it. "Forgive me if this comes across as rude, but I just don't understand your reasoning. You've always spoken about how much you have longed for a big break."

I stare blankly at my feet dangling over the edge of the bed, kicking them back and forth. It's now or never, I think as I brace myself to make a long-overdue confession—to allow my heart to sit atop of my sleeve in a vulnerable manner once more.

"A month ago, I would have accepted this with no questions or second thoughts," I speak slowly. "But then you came along and suddenly I'm not that person anymore. I was self-absorbed and only concerned about myself back then. I can't deny that I'm still wrapped up in my own dreams to an extent that makes me appear arrogant, but I have definitely changed. You have changed me, Caleb."

"Changed you?" He queries, his voice whisper-like and nearly silent compared to my hammering heartbeat. "I never wanted to change you. You seemed fine to me. Sure, you were a little self-obsessed and a bit of a brat, but nothing major."

"But I wasn't fine!" I exclaim. I decide to make a bold move at this point and reach my hand across the bed, resting it atop of his delicately. "I was broken. But working with you has introduced me to a different side of my profession and life, and I don't want it to end."

"I don't... I..." Caleb speaks, but his words trail off. I'm still not glancing in his direction, but I take the action of him moving his hand so that it is fully clasping hold of mine as a positive response to my admission rather than the feared negative one.

I finally look up and meet his eyes. "I'm terrified of what I'm feeling... of the emotions I vowed to bury six-feet under coming back to haunt me. Love for another person who wasn't Blaire, Aurelia, or my aunt was something I never wished to feel again, Caleb, but here we are—you and I."

He almost chokes on thin air. "I- you... you love me?"

Oh.

Shit.

Did I actually just say that?

"I-I... forget I said that." I look away and submit to the intense urge to hide or run from my problems once more.

"Rayna," he says my name seriously, and I turn to face him again. "Don't run away from me again. Please, just explain. I won't judge you."

"Okay..." I admit defeat and take a deep breath to steady myself. "I wouldn't say it's love, but... but I feel something beyond simple friendship for you."

Caleb doesn't respond with words, nor does he make any gesture or movement for several excruciatingly long moments. When he finally does, though, sparks fly. He starts by moving his free hand up to caress my cheek, not once breaking eye-contact with me as he does this.

I thought a moment like this would terrify me, just as it had when I professed my feelings to Oli all those years ago.

But it doesn't.

In complete contrast, I am overcome with an overwhelming sense of calm and serenity as Caleb makes such tender and affectionate moves on me, his fingers now gliding upward to brush through my curled locks of silver hair.

"Want me to let you in on a little secret, Storm Cloud?" He murmurs in a tone of voice that is so much more tender and amorous than usual, his face coming closer to mine as he speaks.

"Go on," I urge him forward, my words carrying a double-meaning as I let my eyes fall down to focus on his lips.

He seems to get a firm grasp of what I am hinting at as, not even three-seconds later, his lips meet mine.

It starts off slow and sweet and just how you'd imagine kissing someone you have never kissed before to be. He puts the smallest amount of pressure on my mouth at first, almost as if he is afraid that too much force would send me fleeing once again. However, when I release a moan of encouragement, Caleb seems to grow in confidence and deepen our exchange.

I move both of my hands and trail them up his chest and shoulders, eventually allowing my arms to loop around his neck and grip wantonly on the collar of his shirt. I feel the exact moment he experimentally runs his tongue across my bottom lip, to which I part my lips and allow him entry as he deepens the kiss.

"I'm still not happy with your decision... and I can't promise you I ever will be," he speaks between breaths after prying his lips from mine, his face only a mere inch away. "I still think you should do what's best for you and your career."

"I don't care—"

"I know you don't, but—"

I silence him with another peck, rolling my eyes as I pull back. "But nothing, Fitrei. You won't be able to change my mind, so stop wasting your breath."

"But that's the issue. I don't even know if I'm going to have any work after this for you to work with me on, Rayna. You'd be signing a deal with a potential dead-end. Heck, I don't even know if I'll have enough money to keep paying you after today."

"We'll figure something out and keep working toward getting your name out there. I'll find other projects for income for me, and I can work for you for free if I have to, Caleb," I tell him. "But for now, I'd very much appreciate it if you'd shut your mouth for once and continue where we left off."

He only shakes his head, muttering something like "you're ridiculous" in a playful tone before locking our lips once more.

Any regret that might still live within me from declining Mr Beaumont's offer vanishes from my mind as he kisses me with more force and passion. The butterflies I possess in my stomach whilst in his presence are undeniable.

Caleb pushes my shoulders with his hands, urging me to fall backwards and lay atop of the soft, cloud-like mattress beneath us. He hovers above me, moving to undo the buttons of my blouse, whilst I fumble with his belt in a desperate attempt to remove some of the layers separating us.

"Shit, Rayna," he moans against my lips as I successfully unbuckle his belt and undo the top button of his jeans. My name spills from his mouth in such a breathy voice, causing heat to pool inside me.

Everything seems okay whilst we hide away from reality inside my hotel room. I feel nothing but genuine as Caleb peels the clothes away from our bodies and kisses and touches me in all the right places, whilst I reciprocate with equal fervor.

For once, I am not labelled as a pawn in Flo's game for fame and fortune, or as Oliver Camden's 'messed up' ex-fiancée. In this moment, I am just Rayna Harris—lying with the person who has changed me for the better and shown me a side of my life and career that I was once so oblivious to.

I feel real.

Woooo! Finally! After 22 chapters, we got to the good stuff.

Sorry it took so long, but I did warn you that this one is a bit of a slow burn. ;)

Where do you think the duo are going to go from here?

Please remember to vote and comment, it helps me out so much and means the absolute world.

Amber