Liza sat on her oversized swing on the porch of her farmhouse. Her long, dark brown hair, which curled slightly at her chin, lay around her shoulders like a shawl, just reaching her elbows. Her fair skin, radiating beauty, would make any woman jealous and all men swoon. Her clothing always looked like it had been painted on; nary a wrinkle or spot anywhere to be seen. Next to the swing sat a small table with a tray containing 2 large glasses filled with a refreshing drink of some kind, as well as a small plate with a handful of cookies that had been made that morning.

She was swinging ever so slightly, her eyes entranced upon the entrance to the barn across the yard. She was waiting for something and was growing impatient. Then, she saw it. As the barn door opened, she could just make out the silhouette of what she had been waiting for. First, the arm; rippling with muscles and very tan; almost burned from the sun; pushing the barn door open to let the light in. Next, she saw his abs and chest; more muscles twitching with every move and sweat glinting from the sun. He hated to wear his shirt after lunch, claiming it was always in the way, so he never had tan lines. His tight pants showed off the muscles he kept hidden, not leaving much to the imagination. Lastly, his hair, black and curly with a few pieces of hay resting peacefully, cut just above his eyes that were the color of the night sky, was his pride and joy.

As Jake exited the barn, he looked to the porch and saw Liza staring at him. He threw her a slight smile and continued toward her. His eyes seemed to twinkle in the sunlight.

As he grew closer, Liza reached for one of the glasses. She was never able to get a hold of it. Instead, Jake quickly grabbed her up off the swing and with one swift move, had her in his arms and carried her across the porch to the door. She softly ran her fingers through his hair, pulling the few strands of hay and lightly tossing them aside. Their eyes met for a moment, but that was all it took. Without thinking he pulled her closer and gently began to press his lips to hers. Soft at first, then firmer and with more enthusiasm until she could not control herself any longer; she pulled her head away from his and wiggled her body until her hand was free and then paused…

“Cut! You are not supposed to stop kissing, yet. It says here, ‘She kisses him back until they get inside, THEN she frees her hand!’” The set started buzzing as soon as the director stopped yelling at her. “That’s a wrap for today,” he continued, obviously frustrated. “We’ll pick it up here on Monday.” As he turned and stormed off to his trailer, Jane felt herself dropping to the porch.

“Why can’t you ever get it right, Jane?” Scott Trane thought of her as a “commoner.” He was the most sought after actor, but no one wanted to work with him because he could be very conceited at times, so they held acting calls for local women to play the part of Liza.

Jane had taken a few courses in college and had acted in a play or two in High School, but never on screen before. She was used to acting live and not having someone yell at her every time she couldn’t remember exactly when something was supposed to happen. She was also beginning to understand why no one liked Scott.

“Oomph!” Jane Crowey landed on the porch with a thud. Scott wouldn’t give her the time of day and complained every time they had to redo a scene that required contact between the two of them. She had complaints, too. He was good looking but that was as far as it went with him. He refused to talk to her between takes, he had taken the crew out to the local restaurant half a dozen times, but had never once even asked to share a cracker with her, and he wore the most repulsive cologne, it made her want to gag. She just wanted to be able to say she was in a movie, even if it was only “Made-for-T.V.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it right by Monday.” She tried to sound sure of herself, but she found it hard to find time to rehearse when she was on the set for twelve hours a day, then, had to go to her real job at the hardware store in the next town over. That had become her escape from Scott after she removed her long, brown wig to reveal her shoulder length dirty blonde hair and washed off the layers of make-up she wore, she would take the 12 minute drive and crank her radio so loud she couldn’t think of how poorly she got treated on the set. When she arrived at work, she informed everyone that it was going great and they would be wrapping up soon. Whenever someone asked her about working with Scott and told her how lucky she was, she’d just smile and turn to find some work to do.

“Did you practice the kissing scene today?” asked Tony, her one true friend at work.

“Yes…and I hated every minute of it,” she replied with a gagging motion to her mouth.

“You did not and you know it,” he laughed at her. Tony Petrie was the complete opposite of Scott; sandy blonde hair, cut short so he never had to worry about it; bright blue eyes and almost pale skin. He wasn’t exactly in the best of shape, but he wasn’t out of shape, either. He never had a bad thing to say about anyone; even Scott Trane. “You know this is like your dream come true?”

“My dream is to meet a man I can grow old with and will love me forever, not to work with a jerk like him,” she remarked with a twitch of her hand, like Scott was standing right behind them. They both laughed before returning to their aisles of merchandise.

Jane found herself thinking about what Tony had said. He was sort of right about the whole dream thing. All she wanted was to meet a nice guy that treated her right, not like the guys her sister dated. They just wanted to be with her because she did everything and anything they wanted. She wouldn’t mind if she met a guy like Jake, but not Scott. Heck, she had even considered Tony a few times. She laughed at herself. Tony was her best friend and even though they had mutual feelings for each other, they had decided long ago that it wouldn’t work out and chose to remain good friends.

“Jane?”

“Huh?” She had been daydreaming about the man she would meet someday. He would be taller than her but not too much, have light brown hair, not too many muscles but in shape, a dimple in one cheek and a British accent. He would work from home and make enough money that she didn’t have to work more than part-time and just for fun. They would have 2 or 3 kids and live in a grand house just outside the big city. Their back yard would have a pool with a large veranda and parties every weekend.

“Will you help the gentleman at the counter, please?” It was her boss, Skip; a short, stocky, balding, older gentleman who loved his business.

“Sure, Skip. Where’d Tony go?” She had been so busy dreaming that she hadn’t even noticed where her friend had gone.

“I sent him on break. You can have yours when he gets back.”

Jane turned to the customer, hoping it was someone that just wanted some nuts and bolts, then, she could get back to work; merchandising the home and garden aisles.

He looked so familiar but she couldn’t place him. He had thinning, brown hair that was cut too short. His eyes were a beautiful steel gray and his face reminded her of someone; but who? She let her eyes wander, looking him over from head to toe, noting that he must work out every day. Then, she blinked. It was Scott!

“What are you doing here?” she asked, a little too snotty.

He was almost taken aback with her remark. He wasn’t sure she would recognize him. “I…um…” he stammered.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, realizing how rude she had sounded. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” She looked at him and noticed how tired he looked. Where were those beautiful black locks he had just a few hours ago? Weren’t his eyes almost black before? He looked pale.

“I wanted to…um…ask you…” he could barely get his thoughts out. Wasn’t he supposed to be this great, wonderful and gorgeous actor? He sounded like a schoolboy talking to his first crush and looked like an old man.

“Yes?” Jane wasn’t sure what he wanted. He never said anything to her, other than to remind her of how bad she was at acting.

“Did I hear that guy say that you get a break soon?” He couldn’t even look at her. He stared at his toes which were tapping almost nervously.

“Ye-es,” she said, slowly. She was confused and concerned. He had always seemed so sure of himself and now, he almost seemed like a lost puppy. “As soon as Tony gets back, I can go.”

“Would you mind if I waited for you? I can wait outside if I’m gonna be in the way.” He almost seemed human, now. She never knew he had manners or a heart and feelings for that matter.

“That’s fine. There’s a bench right outside the door. Tony should be back in just a few minutes.” She was starting to feel sorry for him, now. He definitely didn’t look like the movie star she had seen plastered all over her girlfriends’ walls in college, and he didn’t seem as mean as he had a few hours earlier when they were filming.

A few minutes later, Tony came sauntering in the door. “Who’s the guy on the bench out there? He looks like a homeless man.” Tony was trying to be nice about it. “Maybe I should see if he needs anything.”

Just then, Jane grabbed his arm and pulled him into the aisle she had been working in. “You’ll never guess who it is.” She just knew Tony wouldn’t believe her when he found out who it was.

“You know him? Is he dangerous?” Tony was always concerned for her and hated when she got involved with people he didn’t know.

She started laughing and then realized Tony was serious. “It’s him. It’s Scott.”

Tony looked confused. “Scott, who?”

“Scott Trane.”

Tony peaked out from the aisle they were hiding in to see if he could get another look at the guy on the bench again. From what he knew about Scott, there was no way that was him on the bench. “Are you sure?” He couldn’t stop staring out the door. Thankfully, Scott was watching the few people walking around the street. No one seemed to recognize him.

“He asked me if he could wait for me. I think he wants to go on my break with me.” Jane sounded unsure, yet sorry. Sorry for acting the way she had when she first saw him in the store.

“I’ll make sure to keep my cell phone on, just in case you get in trouble and need help.” Always the protector. Jane knew Tony cared for her, but now she could see the concern in his eyes. She had often come to him after a bad relationship or when she wasn’t sure what to do next and he had always been there to listen to her and help her. He didn’t trust this guy and didn’t want to see her get hurt, again.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he just wants to talk about how I need to get my lines straight and that I should never act again. It’ll be fine.” She wasn’t sure if she even believed herself, but she had to see what he wanted. “But, just in case I’m not back in a half hour, I’ll make sure I keep my phone turned on, too.” She smiled at him and walked toward the door with determination in her eyes.

She was determined to convince Scott that she could learn her lines and he didn’t need to keep reminding her of her acting inability.

Jane decided she wanted to eat at the little café just a block from the hardware store. She didn’t really care if Scott was hungry or liked the food they served, she just wanted to stay close to work in case she needed Tony.

As she fumbled in her pocket for her phone, Scott stood up and opened the door for her. She had not expected him to see her coming, much less help her. He truly wasn’t the same person that had dropped her on her bottom just a few hours earlier.

“Are you going to eat at the café over there?” he asked as he pointed down the street. “I saw it when I came into town and thought it looked like a nice place to eat.”

“That’s exactly where I was going.” She hesitated, “Would you like to join me?”

“Yes, I would. Thank you.” Manners were not something he was known for. Everyone knew how he treated other cast members on his previous movies. He regarded himself as too good for everyone and expected to be treated that way. Even his agent had been known to express disdain for his treatment of others.

“They have a very good soup that’s homemade every day.” Jane was hoping this new Scott would stick around for the rest of the movie shoot. As they walked along the street, passing stores with people walking in and out, she noticed that Scott would stop and wait for others to pass in front of him and he even held the door for an elderly couple walking out of the café, holding hands. She saw how he looked almost longingly at them after they had thanked him and continued to their car. She turned to go in when he closed the door in front of her.

“I just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance. I know I haven’t been exactly nice to you lately.” He reached up to brush a hair back from her face, but quickly withdrew when he saw how she was looking at him.

It wasn’t a bad look, just confused. Had he just apologized for something? It wasn’t quite an “I’m sorry,” but she would take whatever she could get. She smiled. “It’s ok. Everyone’s worth a second chance, I always say.” She looked away from him, there was something about the way he kept looking at her that made her a little uneasy.

“I think I’m on my third of fourth chance, by now,” he tried to laugh, but it didn’t come out right. Instead it was almost a snort. He quickly opened the door again and allowed her to lead him inside.

Jane found a booth near the back of building. She figured he would want to be out of the public eye, just in case someone recognized him. “How’s this booth?”

“It’ll be fine.” He waited for her to take her seat before settling in across from her. He picked up the menu on the table, but never really read it. Instead, he kept looking over it at Jane. He tried hard to not let her see him looking, but she could feel his eyes on her.

She was starting to feel uncomfortable when an elderly waitress with 2 glasses of water, found her way to the table. “What can I get for you two? We have a nice ‘dinner-for-two’ special that you might be interested in. It’s served on one plate with 2 forks and it’s very popular with couples on their first date.” She gave Jane a little wink and a head nod.

Jane and Scott looked at each other and smiled. “I’ll just have a bowl of your special soup with a half a roast beef sandwich. What would you like?” Jane looked at Scott who had finally put his menu down.

“I’m not hungry, but I’d like a glass of milk, please.” He seemed so innocent, so normal. He looked back at Jane, seeming more like a lost puppy than he had before.

Jane was becoming awe-struck with this man sitting across from her in the dark, quiet booth of the café. “Can I ask you something?” She wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to ask him, but she couldn’t handle the way he looked at her. His big puppy dog eyes darted around before finally resting on her hands on the table.

He sighed. When he nodded his head slightly, Jane began, slowly, “How come you’re so much nicer now than you were just a few hours ago?” She hoped it wasn’t too harsh, but she was so confused. When he didn’t respond, she continued, in case he hadn’t realized what he had done to her during the past weeks. “I mean, you’re always telling me that I can’t act…and you never invite me to do anything with you…and you dropped me on my rear today.” She was on a roll, now. She almost brought up the time he had made her cry when he told the crew that she farted during one of their more serious scenes. She hadn’t even told Tony about that one. She paused when she saw his eyes start to gloss over.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled down to the table. He had been watching her hands and glancing at her face, but didn’t dare look her in the eye. He pretended to wipe something away from his eye, but Jane could see that he was truly hurting.

“No, I’m sorry. You came all the way here to talk to me and all I’ve done is made you feel like the bad guy. I shouldn’t have said those things.” She reached over and grabbed his hand. She gave it a quick squeeze before letting go and returning her hands to the tabletop.

He finally looked her in the eyes and said, “I am the bad guy. You’re right, I haven’t been nice to you. I shouldn’t have said those things to you and I shouldn’t have spread rumors about you.” His face was getting flushed and he had to look away. “And I’m sorry if I hurt you when I dropped you today.”

Jane waited for a moment before asking, “Then, why did you?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer, but it would be a good story to go back and tell Tony.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He looked around as if he was looking for the nearest exit. His eyes rested on the waitress returning with their order. He sighed and looked back at Jane. She was still looking at him, waiting for an answer.

The elderly woman set the soup and sandwich in front of Jane and smiled at Scott before placing his milk down. “Sorry, did I interrupt you two? You look so cute together.” She looked back and forth between them, then turned her gaze back on him. “Don’t I know you from somewhere? You seem awfully familiar…” She trailed off as she walked back to the kitchen for someone else’s order, looking back at the table before disappearing behind the door.

“That was close,” Jane whispered to Scott.

He smiled at her and went back to looking around.

Jane wanted to ask him again, but knew she wasn’t going to get a straight answer from him, so instead she ate her soup and sandwich in silence, glancing up at him every few bites.

“I should get going. What time are you done working?” Scott really seemed nervous now.

She stared at him for a long minute. ”Did you want to talk some more?” She wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“I thought maybe we could go to the bar in town and have a few beers? Maybe that will loosen me up enough to tell you what you want to know.” His color was coming back and he didn’t seem as lost anymore.

“Sure. I get off around 9:00. Do you want me to call you when I’m done?”

“No, I’ll just stop back over at your work around then. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He smiled at her as he stood up and walked to the register. He flagged down their waitress and handed her some money. They both looked over at Jane sitting alone at the table and he walked out the door. The waitress gave her a big smile then thanked him before he walked out.

Jane finished up her dinner and got up to leave when the waitress came back to the booth. “How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“That nice young man you were with paid for it. When I asked him how he could walk out on a date with a beautiful girl like that, he said he may regret it now, but he’d be seeing you again soon.” Jane felt herself blush. Had he really considered it a date or was he doing it for the old ladies sake. “I still can’t figure out who he is. He looks like…” She trailed off again, walking away to check on another table of customers.

Jane couldn’t help but smile at herself in the mirror behind the counter. What was it about this new Scott that had her so entranced? Was it just because she hadn’t had a boyfriend in more than a year or was he really the kind of guy she had been looking for all along? She couldn’t stop thinking about his eyes as she walked back to the hardware store, where Tony was staring at his watch, cell phone in hand, waiting for her to come back.

When she saw him, she almost ran into the store to tell him about her “date” with Scott. He would get a kick out of it.

After she had recanted the whole half hour to him; he just looked at her and asked, “Are you really going to the bar with him, tonight?” He didn’t get as big a kick out of it as she thought he would.

“Well, I did tell him I would.” She was starting to wonder if she should, now. The look on Tony’s face made her feel like she had just told her parents she was dating the bad boy in school. “You don’t think I should?”

“No, I don’t,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Maybe you could come with. I don’t think he’d mind, too much.” Jane really wanted to see him again, but she also knew Tony wouldn’t go to the bar, he hated drinking and didn’t like it when she did because she was a little too ‘flirty’ when she got drunk, as he put it.

“No. You go, but promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.” He knew he couldn’t stop her, but he could get her to call him if she ever needed anything. “Remember, I always have my phone on.” With that, he walked back to the aisle he had been merchandising and, other than a few glances her way, didn’t seem to want to communicate with Jane the rest of the day.

When he left at 8, she was finally able to relax. Tony had made her feel so uncomfortable that she could barely concentrate on her own aisle. They usually chatted about everything under the sun, but this evening, he seemed to be ignoring her.

The last hour of work seemed to drag on forever. When 9:00 finally arrived, she glanced at the door, but there was no sign of Scott. Had he stood her up? “How typical,” she thought, “Back to the same old Scott Trane.”

At 9:02, she saw him walking up to the door, out of breath. He shyly smiled at her. She walked quickly to the door and met him outside. “Sorry I’m late. I had to drive to 3 different towns to find you this.” He pulled his hand out from behind his back and handed her a long-stem yellow rose with pink tips.

“How did you know my favorite color was yellow?” Jane was truly surprised. She had never gotten a yellow rose before and now she got one from someone she had hated less than twelve hours earlier.

“Just a hunch,” he replied, with that same look in his eyes she had seen while sitting in the café. “Should we head over there?”

Jane noticed that he seemed more certain of himself now. It was still a far cry from the jerk she left standing on the porch of the farmhouse they were filming at earlier that day. She liked that his hair wasn’t perfect and he did have tan lines. He didn’t seem as egotistical as when she had first met him and he seemed to be genuine.

She nodded and started to follow him away from the store when he slowed down to walk next her. He got so close at times that his arm brushed up against hers more than once. All Jane could do was smile and turn her head to look down the street. For a second she thought she recognized one of the cars sitting a few blocks away, but was drawn back to Scott when he asked, “Do you live around here?”

“Actually, I live above the hair salon, just over there.” Jane turned around and craned her neck to point at a building tucked behind some of the main stores a few blocks the other way. “Just me and my cat; living all alone.” She smiled, hoping that wasn’t too much information. She hadn’t even started drinking yet and she could already feel herself getting flirty with him.

“At least it’s within walking distance.” Scott seemed to be thinking about something else, but still managed to smile at her.

They approached the door to the local bar and he reached out for the handle when Jane put her hand on his. “I can open my own doors, you know?” She looked up at his face and moments later realized she had been staring at him. He just stared back until she let go of his hand and shied away from him. “Sorry. I know you were only being polite.”

“No. I’m sorry. I just want to make up for how I’ve treated you lately.” He took her hand and gently pressed it to his lips, then released it. How could Jane resist him, now? She would never have imagined she’d fall for Scott Trane; the egotistical, rude, self-centered jerk she had dreaded facing everyday she went to the farmhouse.

She slowly withdrew her hand, hoping she didn’t have to wake from this dream any time soon. Her mind raced back to earlier that day when he had to carry her across the porch and they kissed and then he dropped her. At the time, she thought he hated her, but now, she wished they could rehearse that scene over and over again.

Oh, how she wished she could talk to Tony right now. He would tell her if she was getting in over her head. Of course, he had said she shouldn’t go to the bar with Scott, but he didn’t see how he was treating her. This was definitely not the same guy she had been telling him about for the past few weeks. He was much different than Tony imagined and he wouldn’t understand until he met him in person.

“Let’s get inside before all the good tables are taken.” Jane brushed past Scott into the bar and found her way to the most secluded corner, away from where most of the people were standing around either playing games or flirting with the opposite sex across the bar. “This is a good table. No one will be able to recognize you.”

Jane sat in the chair in the corner, facing the crowd, expecting Scott to sit across from her with his back to the bar. Instead, he pushed a chair closer to her and sat so close to her she could smell his cologne. It was different than what he wore while shooting, it smelled so much better. She wanted to say something, but paused when she saw the look on his face. He wanted to be the first to talk.

“I haven’t been exactly honest with you, Jane,” he paused to look at her. Her face distorted, slightly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Uh, oh,” she thought. “Now, I find out that he’s not Scott Trane. He’s some guy they pulled off the street and tried to pass off as Scott. Or worse, they’ve sent him to fire me, but they wanted him to make me comfortable first. Tony was right; I shouldn’t have come to the bar with him.” She was getting worried now.

“I’m not the jerk that you see every day at the farmhouse. That’s a disguise my agent wants me to use. He says it’s great for publicity. I’ve always hated it, but it seems to work. I’m more popular than I ever thought I would be and every movie I make gets great reviews.” He was trying to be modest, but Jane knew everything he said was true.

“But, why? Aren’t there other ways to make a name for yourself?” She wanted to believe what he was saying, but it sounded a little absurd.

“You don’t understand what it’s like in Hollywood. If you don’t make a splash, no one notices you.” He was starting to sound depressed and Jane was feeling sorry for him.

“I suppose…I am just a nobody,” she responded sarcastically, hoping he would catch it.

“No you’re not. You’re Jane Crowey; a talented, beautiful actress who lives in small town Minnesota. I only wish I could have such a simple life.” He was complimenting her and she blushed.

Just then, a good looking waitress approached the table carrying a tray, wearing a stained apron over a too-tight belly shirt and shorts that were only visible when she turned around. She yelled at them out of pure habit. “What can I get for you two?”

“We’ll have 2 beers, thanks,” Scott answered before Jane could interject. “Hope you don’t mind?”

“Beer’s fine,” she replied fumbling for her purse. She hoped she had brought her wallet with.

“Don’t worry about it. I think I owe you anyway.” He pushed her purse back down to the chair next to her. “Let me pay, tonight.”

He had paid for her dinner and now drinks at the bar, she wasn’t sure how much he owed her but she would take it. At least for a little while longer.

The waitress returned with their beers and snatched up the twenty dollar bill Scott had put on the table as if it might disappear. She was about to ask, “Do you need change?”

“Keep it.” He barely looked at her as she flounced off with a big grin on her face.

“You do know that you just gave her over a ten dollar tip for 2 beers?” Jane had never known anyone to be so free with their money.

“Should it have been more?” He was kidding her now. Honestly, he just didn’t want her to come back for a while.

“Very funny, but if you don’t want people to know who you are, then you need to act like us normal people.” She was being a little serious, but couldn’t help laughing. Scott stuck a straw in his mouth like a farmer puts a blade of wheat and started to make funny noises like he was calling some kind of farm animal. “Quit that,” she was finally able to stop laughing long enough to take the straw out.

The rest of the night was a blur. The two sat and drank and talked and laughed until the lights flickered and the cute, but tired, waitress told them they had to leave so she could go home. “Do you guys need a ride?” she asked.

“I don’t think we had that much to drink,” Jane said, as she stood up and reached for her purse. Just then, the room started to spin and she had to sit back down.

“I think we both had more than we needed,” he joked at Jane. He looked at his watch, then at the waitress. “Do you think you could call me a cab?”

Jane and the waitress looked at each other then smiled. “Sorry, honey. The last cab left about an hour ago.” She laughed. Truth was, this small town didn’t have a taxi service.

“You can stay at my place. I have a fold-out couch.” Was that Jane’s voice? She looked confused as if someone else made her say it.

“I hate to impose,” he started to stand up then caught himself with the table. “But, maybe I should find somewhere close to stay tonight.” He laughed gently before sitting back down by Jane.

“There are no hotels around here. You’d have to sleep in your car.” It was Jane’s voice alright, but who was moving her lips for her? “Stay at my place. Joey won’t mind.”

“Joey? That’s your cat, right?” He was trying to look concerned, but failed miserably.

“Come on, Scott,” Jane said, as she grabbed his arm. “We can hold each other up on the way.” They both started laughing.

As they walked out the door, the waitress stared after them, then got a big smile on her face. “Scott Trane?” she mouthed.