Part 2
“Nick?” Her eyes were wide and as bottomless as the last time he’d seen her, and her voice, her voice was still the same. Soft but clear, and always with a hint of laughter.
The awkwardness of the moment vanished as Nick pulled her into a hug, a warm embrace of two old and dear friends reconnecting. It was just like it had always been, and it felt like they’d never been apart, but they had. For five long years.
“What are you doing here?” they asked in unison, then laughed, breaking the moment.
“You first,” she insisted, tucking her unruly hair back under her cap.
“Movie,” Nick replied, thumbing over his shoulder at the production trailers littering the landscape.
Kathryn smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief and her dimples deepening as she spoke. “A movie? I thought that after your first disaster they’d bar you from the business and take away your SAG card.”
“Always the comedian, huh, Katy?” Nick smiled down at her, amazed at how easily they slipped into the old familiar banter. “Screen Actors Guild loves me, Katy May, and unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years you’d know that.”
“I see you’ve not quite built up your self-confidence yet, Carter. You need to work on that.” Kathryn rolled her eyes as Nick laughed, and then the laughter faded into silence as each took in the others’ appearance.
Five years ago Nick had been a fledgling actor. A disrespected singer-turned-actor wannabe struggling to overcome his entry into a whole new industry.
“Hey kid …hello? You, kid!” Nick called out to the petite teenager setting out food on the lunch table. I will NOT turn around, Kathryn had thought. I will NOT turn around, I will-
“Hello???” the voice said, right into her ear.
Kathryn jumped, turning and looking up. And up … and getting lost in the most gorgeous pair of eyes she’d ever seen. A shock of almost platinum blonde hair fell over one eye of the tall, broad-shouldered young man that stood grinning down at her. She opened her mouth to speak, horrified when no sound came forth.
“Got any diet Coke?” he asked. “I’m on a diet and this other stuff is too damn sweet.”
“Sure, I’ll get some. Gimme a minute.” Great, Kathryn, she cringed inwardly. Way to be professional.
“Thanks sweetheart,” he’d said with a smile and a wink.
Sweetheart? she fumed, even as she went to retrieve the requested beverage. I am NOT his sweetheart and if he thinks I am, well then he’s-
“Thanks baby, I really appreciate it.” Nick took the can of soda from her tightly clenched hand, popped the top and kissed her gently on the cheek. “See ya!” he’d grinned, swaggering back to the set, completely missing the look of outrage on Kathryn’s face.
“Still charming the production staff Nicky?” she asked, feeling a tiny thrill of triumph when he cringed at the sound of his old nickname.
“I try to, but none of them are as charmable as you were.”
“’Charmable’? Dear god, Nick, is that even a word?” Kathryn laughed and Nick warmed inside despite the bone chilling cold that was enveloping the park.
“You never answered my question. What brings you to Vancouver?”
“I have family here. Well, I had family here,” she amended. “I moved here to take care of my grandfather when he became ill, but he passed away about a year ago.”
“I’m sorry, Katy,” Nick said brushing her cheek with his fingers. “That must have been rough.”
“It was,” she whispered, “but it’s all for the good, you know?”
The silence lengthened, bordering on becoming awkward, and Kathryn shivered as the breeze picked up, ushering in even more fog. She pulled her hat down over her ears and her jacket even tighter across her breasts and tried to think of a way to escape without being rude. It wasn’t meant to be.
“I’d like to see you again.” Nick tucked his hands into his pockets, also feeling the encroaching chill, yet hesitant to leave.
Katy sighed, more loudly than she’d intended, it seemed.
“I’ll only be here for a week, Katy. I’d just like to get together and talk, nothing fancy.” Please? His voice seemed to beg.
Talk? Not a good idea. Nope, not a good idea at all. “All right,” her lips answered even as the little conscience on her shoulder was screaming ‘noooo’.
“I could come by your place-“
“Better yet, there’s a little coffee shop close by. Let’s meet there. Tomorrow night?”
“I have to film tomorrow, is eight o’clock too late?”
“No, that will be fine.”
Nick committed the address to memory and watched Kathryn walk away. He smiled, a contented happy smile, and felt better than he had in years. Five years, to be exact.