First Meeting Part 3

Nick and Kelly

Nick had slid down in the seat on his side of the booth and propped his feet on the seat next to Kelly. Between her and the exit to the booth, she noted. She sipped her coke and met his eyes.

"What is it you'd like to know about Kelly Scott," she asked, being direct.

She was talking to him in a serious way and, even in his exhaustion, that intrigued him. Women were usually flirty or seductive around him. Or both. Kelly was being neither. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to respond to her question.

"You like being an actress?" he finally asked, taking a long drink from his beer.

"It's okay," she replied, dropping her eyes.

"Just okay? You're not having the time of your life? It's not what you always wanted to do?" Again, she'd surprised him.

"No. Not really." It was difficult to admit that, and she'd never said it to anyone before. Something in his eyes told her she could trust him. She desperately hoped it wasn't just that crush she'd had on him talking.

"Damn!" Nick sat up straight, taking his feet off the opposite bench. "You're the first actress I ever heard say anything like that!" He drained some more of the beer. "If you don't really like it, what the hell are you doing in Hollywood?"

Taking a deep breath, Kelly told him about her short history in acting. How she'd been in local theater groups, mainly because she needed some kind of extra-curricular activity in high school, and there hadn't been anything else she'd actually loved doing, other than reading.

A friend had gone for an audition for a TV series and Kelly had gone along for moral support. She'd been talked into auditioning too and, to her absolute amazement, two weeks later, she'd gotten a call offering her a part.

Nick was watching her face as she talked. There was really no happiness in her voice or her expression. She'd been surprised, but she hadn't been excited, apparently. He was finding her more and more interesting--a girl who was making it in Hollywood, but wasn't enjoying it?

As Kelly continued to talk, she told him about her family. Her father was an auto mechanic, her mother a housewife. They were far from being rich and the money she'd been offered for a guest role on TV was too good to pass up. That role had led to another guest shot on a series, and then a supporting role in a movie.

Nick was smiling at her when she stopped talking.

"What?" she asked, with a touch of annoyance.

"I just can't believe you're telling me all this." He finished off his beer and went to the fridge for another. "You want another coke?"e

"No, thanks. I can't believe I am either," she confessed. "Listen- If anyone found out about all this-"

Nick came back to the table, standing next to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Relax," he said, moving his hand up to take lock of her hair between his fingers, rubbing it softly. "Your secret's safe with me. Wanna watch some television?"

"TV?" Kelly was taken aback.

"Yeah. I like watching TV. It relaxes me. You got a problem with that?"

"No." She couldn't help chuckling a little. "It's just- I came home with Nick Russell and we're watching TV! Who'd believe it?"

"So-" He looked at her with a grin. "This is the secret of mine that no one can find out."

"You're on." Kelly took the hand he was holding out to her and let him lead her through the house.