Vanessa waited for Emily on the couch with Riley, fighting the urge to get up and pace.  She had been busy thinking since breakfast, and Riley seemed to sense her anxiety.  She tried to avert the rising panic by her normal methods, avoiding the cookie dough, since none was in the refrigerator.  Nothing else seemed to be working.  He twirled a piece of her hair between two of his fingers as her muscles twitched nervously.  When his other hand touched hers, she nearly jumped off the couch. 

“Why are you so nervous?”  Riley asked.

She turned to face him, unable to contain her words anymore.  “Because if you meet Emily, one of MY friends, it makes all this real.”  She stood up, and he stood up with her.  “You.  Me.  Us.  Together.  Real.  No turning back.  No disappearing.  Not my deluded fantasy.  REAL.”  She walked back and forth, and he watched with wide eyes as she punctuated her speech with wild gesticulations.  “It means we are serious.  A couple.  Are we dating?  Oh my God, am I LIVING with you?  I mean, we just met about a week ago.  And where do we go from here?  This isn’t real.  I’m dreaming or hallucinating.”  She shook her head vehemently.  “No.  You’re not falling for me.  There is no way.  Shit like this just doesn’t happen in the real world.  What the hell are we doing, Riley?”  She paced faster.  “This is INSANE!  Too fast.  Not real.  What do I tell Emily this is when she asks?  Hell, what do I tell my DAD?”  She smacked her forehead.  “Holy shit, you are going to MEET my dad!  No.  I can’t do this.”  She ran toward the stairs.  “Tell Emily I died.”

He grabbed her arm just before she reached the bottom step and pulled her into the safety of his arms.  She initially fought him, but as he rubbed her back soothingly, she calmed.  He waited patiently for her breathing to return to normal.

“Are you better?” he asked.

She pulled away from his chest and looked up at him, realizing right then that she was crying.  “I think so.  A little embarrassed, but better.  I don’t know where that came from.”

He led her to the couch and sat her down.  “Now, I get that you over think everything.  That can be a good quality, but it can also be bad.  It gets especially bad when you keep those thoughts inside.  You start doubting and questioning everything you feel and everything I say.  That I don’t get.”

She laughed humorlessly.  “Jeez, who’s the shrink here?”

“Let me ask you this:  Have I done anything or said anything to make you doubt me?”

She looked up at him, hesitant to answer.  “Well… No, but…”

“Hear me out.  I’ve been thinking, too.  I’m going to say what I think, and you are going to believe me this time.  Have you noticed how comfortable we are together?”

“Well, yes.  But…”

“Shhhh, it’s my turn now.  And you’re going to listen.  Something I’ve learned from you is that when you show your vulnerabilities, I am more likely to show mine.  You tried to be all closed off at the beginning, and it made me not want to tell you anything.  It’s when you started opening up with me that I wanted to open up to you.  It’s probably something to think about when you get your career going. 

“So, I’m going to tell you some of the things I like about us, and maybe it’ll make you feel less, well…like that.  I like how I can and want to tell you anything.  I like how intently you listen to me.  I especially like how you lean into me when you listen.  I like how your eyes sparkle when you discuss something about which you are passionate.  I like that you know and love grammar rules and aren’t afraid to correct them.  I like how we read each other.  It’s almost instinctive, you know?”  He kneeled in front of her.  “And I love how you are so oblivious to how beautiful you are.  I love that you are beautiful with makeup but even more beautiful without it.  I love how periodically, your Texas twang comes out when you talk.  I love the look on your face when you try to keep control over your thoughts, but I really love how you slightly blush and try to cover when you say something you think you shouldn’t have.”  He grabbed both of her hands.  “I love how you watch me when you think I’m not paying attention.  I love how you touch me when I talk about my mom, and I love how I feel comforted by it, but I really love how I melt under your touch.”  He lifted her chin to meet his eyes.  “I love how you look at me when we have sex, like I’m the only thing that exists.”  He smiled briefly at the memory.  “All of what you said a minute ago, I haven’t thought about any of that stuff because being with you is so natural.  It feels like I’ve known you for a long time, not just two weeks, and it is almost two weeks, by the way.  I meant it when I said I’m not going to let you go.  So, yeah, I guess you’re stuck here with me, Vanessa Lynn Taylor.”  He kissed her, and she felt it all the way down to her toes.

The doorbell rang.  Neither one of them made a move to break the kiss or answer the door.  It impatiently rang again.

“It’s Emily,” Vanessa said.  DAMMIT.

“I’ll get it.”  Riley rose and answered the door. 

Vanessa sat on the couch resting her head on the back, eyes closed, breathing, taking in all that Riley had told her. 

It’s impossible.  There is no way.  Twelve days.  That’s all we’ve known each other.  Plus, he’s a big-time Hollywood actor, and who am I?  Dr. Small Town Girl.  I’m not his type.  I can’t be.  This is crazy.  But all those things he said.  Beautiful things.  When I’m with him, God, I so want to believe him.  Why would he say all that and not mean it?  I mean, I could think he was doing it to get into my pants, but he already did that, too many times to count, and that was before he said it.  He said he is falling for me.  Can it be true?  It’s just not rational. Love’s not rational, right?  I wasn’t looking for love.  That’s when it usually finds you, though.  Shit.  A little help here?  What do I do?

“Does she always do this?” Riley asked Emily, breaking Vanessa from her reverie.

“Yes.  It’s annoying, but she wouldn’t be Vanessa without it.”

Vanessa opened her eyes to see Emily dressed in a red, brushed cotton, fitted halter top and white shorts.  She and Riley faced each other. 

“You can stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Vanessa protested.

“Well, we’ve been doing it for about five minutes before you noticed,” Emily teased and reached down to put her purse down on the coffee table.  “While you were lost in your brain, we had to introduce ourselves to one another.”

“Oh my God, Emily, you got a tattoo!”  Vanessa jumped up to see Emily’s right shoulder, which glistened from whatever protective ointment she had slathered on it.  “What is it?  It looks like a swirly H.  Is it Tater’s initial?”

“No, it’s the symbol for Pisces.  I thought it was about time to get one.  I mean, my boyfriend is a tattoo artist.” 

“But I thought you said you never…”

“Yeah, well, I did.  Can we talk about this at lunch?” she stage whispered.  “So, Riley.  It was very nice to meet you.  I’ve been in L.A. all of two years, and you’re the first celeb I’ve met up close and personal.  I thought I’d be all quivery and nervous around you, since you’re not like a normal person.”

“Emily!” Vanessa reprimanded.

“So,” Emily continued, “I see how you look at my girl over here.  You like her?”

Riley full-on smiled and nodded. “A lot,” he paused.  “More than a friend.”  He added innocently.

“Hey, I’m STILL here!”  Vanessa shook her head, smiling.  “You going to make him check yes or no now, Em?  Riley, now you know what made me panic earlier.  I just can’t control her.”

“Many stronger than you have tried, Ness,” Emily laughed.  “Do I embarrass you?”

Vanessa smiled.  “Daily.  I don’t know why I hang out with you.”

“You love me.  That’s why.  Yin to my yang.  We make a great team because we complement each other perfectly.”

“You just kept me around so I could clean the apartment.  You like my neat freakery.”

“Yep, that’s it.  And you keep me from having to think.  You do it enough for the both of us.”

“So, Emily,” Riley began, slipping an arm around Vanessa.  “I need some insight into Vanessa.”

“This ought to be good,” Vanessa muttered. 

Emily smiled.  “I’ll tell you this.  She is the best person I know.  We’ve been best friends since middle school.  I’m closer to her than I am to my own twin sister.”

“Still haven’t talked to Etta?” Vanessa asked, hoping the change in subject would distract Emily.

“Nope.  I wish I knew the reason for the freeze out.”

“Well, your sister never was as cool as me,” Vanessa mumbled.

“True,” Emily said.  “But, Riley, Vanessa is not as secure on the inside as she seems on the outside.”

Vanessa shot Emily an evil death stare, wishing she had perfected her Jedi powers so that she could explode Emily’s head.

Riley laughed.  “Yeah, I kinda already figured that one out on my own.  See, I’m trying to convince her how good I think we are together, and I’ve met… resistance.”

“Oh?  Things are going well, are they?”  Emily hooked her arm through Riley’s and dragged him away from Vanessa.  “Look,” she said in a lowered voice, “I’ll see what I can do at lunch.  I’m pretty good at convincing her to take risks.  From what I can tell, this is one worth taking.”

“Thanks,” Riley said in the same hushed tone.  “If she didn’t get lost inside her own head so much, I think we’d be okay.”

“Yeah, her mom really did a number on her.  One time…”

“ENOUGH!” Vanessa yelled.  “Emily, let’s go.”  She grabbed her friend by the elbow and quickly walked to the door.

“Wait,” Riley urged.  “I didn’t get to say goodbye.”  He turned to Emily and shook her hand.  “It was nice to meet you, Emily.”  He turned to Vanessa, pulled her close, wrapped her up in his arms, and kissed her in that tingling, knee-weakening style that never ceased to blow her mind, complete with the tongue touches that he knew drove Vanessa crazy.  He pulled away from the kiss, smiling devilishly.  “There.  That gives you something to think about at lunch.” 

 

***

 

Vanessa dragged her feet to the car.  Other than a few text messages exchanged, she and Emily hadn’t really talked since she returned from Vegas.  Then, it was only a quick call to tell her she was home and exhausted.  Vanessa knew Em would have a lot to catch up on at work since her boss saved all her paralegal-ing until she returned, so she worked late this past week.  She knew Em would give her a hard time about not reporting everything, and since she couldn’t keep secrets from her when they were together, she would have to tread lightly.  She barely sat down in the car before Em started in on her.

“Okay, Vanessa,” Emily snipped as she started the car.  “What’s your issue?”

Vanessa tried for innocence.  “Whatever do you…”

“Don’t give me that.  You know exactly what I mean.  That guy is crazy about you.”

“No, he can’t be…”

“Oh, come on!  Are you that stupid?  He is so ready for some Vanessa love.”

Vanessa reddened.  “About that…”

“You already did it?  And you didn’t tell me?  Holy shit!”  Emily softened her tone.  “Honey, you already did it, and he is that in to you?  I don’t get the problem.  Are you falling for him?”

Vanessa’s eyes welled up.  “You DON’T get it.  That IS the problem.  I’m not falling for him, I am one-hundred percent gone, already fallen, totally head over heels for him.”  She took a deep breath.  “And that scares the crap out of me.”   

“Good God, Ness!  Why?”

Vanessa tried to get her emotions in check before speaking.  Once she felt no danger of completely breaking down, she explained.  “I’ve only known him twelve days, Em.  That’s completely crazy, isn’t it?  I mean, there is no way to fall for someone and know them well enough to talk about love in that short amount of time.  I’ve never been in love, Em.”  She sniffed.  “I mean it feels right, but then I get to thinking about it, and it seems completely insane.  He says all the right things, but he can’t mean them.  I’m waiting for him to turn to me and say, ‘Just kidding,’ and kick me to the curb.  It’s going to all be an illusion and disappear.  He’s too perfect.  Well, except that he can’t dance.  It’s crazy.  It can’t be happening.  TWELVE DAYS!  No way.  This really is your romance novel shit, Em.  Things like this just don’t happen in real life.”  She grabbed her head with both hands.  “Hell, I don’t even have his phone number.  Usually before I have sex with someone, I at least have his number.  It’s crazy.  Something is bound to go wrong.  I’ll find a way to screw it up, just like I have every other serious relationship I’ve ever been in.  It’s going to all go wrong.  And soon.”

Emily threw up her hands.  “Goodness, girl, I am this close,” she held up her thumb and finger close together, “to giving up on you.  First of all, what I just witnessed back in that house was very real.  Riley Tate has feelings for you, Vanessa Lynn Taylor.  It wasn’t an illusion or all in your head because I witnessed it.  Now, pull your head out of your ass so you can see it for yourself.

“Secondly, you haven’t ever had a serious relationship, just guys you had sex with.  Steven was a controlling, commitment-phobic asshole who ran at the first sign of real feelings. And what you had with Jason can only be considered a relationship because it lasted more than six months.  And you didn’t screw that up; he was hooking up with the TA for macrobiotics.  He was the jerk, Honey, nothing was wrong with you.”

“Yes there is something wrong with me,”  Vanessa mumbled.

Emily pulled over and stopped the car.  “Listen to me.  I love you.  You are a wonderful friend and person.  I don’t waste time on people, you know that.  That man back there sees in you what I see.  You have chosen the wrong guys in the past.  I think Riley is the right guy.  Tell me this, do you think Riley is worth it?”

“Yes, but…”

“No, there is no but.  You are going to give this a chance.  You are going to throw caution to the wind and see what happens.”  Emily softened her tone.  “If you don’t, you will regret it, and honestly, I don’t want to have to listen to it the rest of our lives.”

“The rational part of my brain says you are right, Em.  But I’m still scared.”

“Fine.  Be scared.  Anything new is scary.  But don’t be a coward.”  Emily smiled.  “At least he hasn’t witnessed one of your panicky fits yet.”

“Uh, yeah,” Vanessa sighed.  “Two of them.”

“And he still looks at you like that?  Damn girl, he is Mr. Right.”  She paused.  “Now, tell me one thing.  Sex with Riley Tate.  As good as I think?”

Vanessa laid back against the headrest, a slow smile crept around her mouth.  “Holy shit, no.  It’s so much better.”

Emily put the car in drive.  “Yeah, that’s my girl.”